LONDON: The organisers of the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival have announced the introduction of the “Lions Academy” as part of the Festival’s 5oth anniversary celebrations. The ad festival kicks off Sunday.

The Academy aims at providing a one-week training and educational programme to the best students already studying advertising, marketing, communication and design.

Each year, a class of 20-30 students between 18-23 years of age, from different countries will be invited to attend the festival. They will follow an intensive programme of seminars, ad viewings and tutorials. The students will be accompanied throughout the week by a tutor. This year it will be Head of the Advertising Course at Central Saint Martins, London Clive Challlis.

A Dean, who will be nominated every three years, will head the Academy. The first Dean of the Academy will be Michael Conrad, formerly Leo Burnett's worldwide chief creative officer.

Tutorials will be given by Saatchi & Saatchi worldwide creative director Bob Isherwood; Wunderman (NY) executive VP and chief creative officer Joel Sobelson, and Universal McCann, Australia MD James Warburton.

In addition, the organisers of the ad festival have also announced the introduction of a new award – a Titanium Lion. This award will be presented every year to the work in any category, or any combination of categories, that causes the industry to stop in its tracks and reconsider the way forward. The Titanium Lion will honour innovation - innovation in design, thinking, execution or sensibility, or innovation in the development of new forms of communication or the interrelationship between existing ones.