CNN Academy Abu Dhabi Celebrates Five Years Of Excellence In Media Training For Young Journalists

CNN Academy Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with Abu Dhabi’s Creative Media Authority (CMA), has celebrated five years of impactful operations. By 2025's end, the academy will have trained 165 local talents, including 93 Emiratis, since its inception in 2021. This initiative offers an intensive course aimed at empowering future journalists in multiplatform storytelling.

Each year, local students are joined by international peers from countries like the US, Malaysia, and Spain. By the conclusion of the fifth cycle, over 270 international students will have participated in the programme. This ensures a blend of global perspectives and unified thinking among participants.

The training is led by more than 25 experts annually, including CNN anchors and correspondents. By late 2025, these experts will have delivered 725 hours of training through special sessions and masterclasses. Students also benefit from studio-based learning and online resources.

All alumni have lifetime access to CNN Academy’s online hub. This platform provides self-paced courses, live-streamed masterclasses globally, and various learning materials. Such resources ensure continuous learning opportunities for past and present students.

In 2025, CNN Academy Abu Dhabi will focus on Community Storytelling to align with the UAE's Year of Community. The new cohort begins studies in mid-September, aiming for careers or internships within Abu Dhabi's creative industries. Thirty-three students have previously secured such opportunities.

Becky Anderson, Managing Editor of CNN Abu Dhabi, stated: "It feels entirely appropriate that we should be marking the fifth year of CNN Academy by celebrating the importance of Community Storytelling." She emphasised the academy's role in fostering a global community of journalists.

Partnerships and Future Plans

In a significant move for 2024, CMA announced a partnership with Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT). This collaboration aims to provide academic assessment and course merits for students. The initiative bridges education with the private sector to benefit students' media careers.

The academy plans to host a dedicated careers fair as part of its broader programme schedule. Since 2023, it has also offered special training to select government employees in Abu Dhabi. By 2025's end, this will include 139 individuals from 30 entities.

Comprehensive Journalism Training

The academy offers extensive training covering visual and audio storytelling, newsroom roles, fact-checking methods, interviewing techniques, mobile storytelling, deadline management, and breaking news workflows. Students then apply these skills during a Simulation Week under expert supervision.

This year's cohort includes fresh graduates from 2023 and 2024 or fourth-year undergraduates passionate about journalism. They will attend masterclasses from community-focused experts continuing themes like AI and Cyber Security explored in previous years.

Aysha Al Jneibi from CMA remarked: "This year we are aligning CNN Academy Abu Dhabi’s annual changing theme with the Year of Community to ensure we deliver impactful training around stories which really affect our local and global community."

Applications for the 2025-26 cohort are now open on CNN Academy's website until June 30th, 2025. This opportunity is for those eager to enhance their journalism skills through one of CMA's talent management initiatives.

With inputs from WAM