Roger Hatchuel Student Academy
Interested in a career in advertising? Don’t know where to start? The Roger Hatchuel Student Academy is a unique learning experience designed to help you launch your career.
Each year, the Academy gives students the opportunity to learn firsthand from the world’s greatest brands, creative minds and industry leaders.
Academy overview
Our programme is designed to help you explore the various avenues and creative spaces you could pursue after you graduate. Throughout the week, you’ll unlock a greater understanding of the industry and build a network of global peers.
Topics covered include:
- An introduction to the creative industry – client, agency and beyond
- Building your personal brand
- Brand strategy and insights
- Societal, cultural and global perspectives
- Technology and new tools
- Solving a creative brief.
Who’s it for?
To join our programme, you must:
- be a full-time student in your last year of study
- be 18–25 years old (born on or after 26 June 2000)
- have an interest in advertising and creative communications.
Please note that the programme is delivered in English. Only apply if you’re confident you’ll be able to participate in all discussions and collaborate with other programme participants.
2025 Speakers
Carlo Cavallone
Carlo Cavallone
VP Head of Global Creative
Our LEGO Agency, The LEGO Group
Dailo Alli
Dailo Alli
Chief of Global Campaigns and Brand
UNHCR
David Shing
David Shing
Digital Prophet
Shingy
Felipe Vallebella
Felipe Vallebella
Chief Creative Officer
Visual Latina
Helen Tiffany
Helen Tiffany
CEO
The Coach House
Juan Javier Peña Plaza
Juan Javier Peña Plaza
North America Chief Creative Officer & Partner
GUT
Marcelle Santos
Marcelle Santos
Strategy Director
McCann Worldgroup
Nat Davey
Nat Davey
CMO
Movember
Nic Taylor
Nic Taylor
SVP
Our LEGO Agency, The LEGO Group
Nidhi Shah
Nidhi Shah
Art Director
adam&eve
Rag Brahmbhatt
Rag Brahmbhatt
Copywriter
adam&eve
Richard Toranzo
Richard Toranzo
CEO
Pixl Social
Sasha Jiang
Sasha Jiang
AR/VR Creative
Digitas UK
Sonita Alizadeh
Sonita Alizadeh
Human rights activist, musician and author
Tim Rodgers
Tim Rodgers
Founder
Ace Workflow
This week at the Academy was definitely the best of my life. As a designer and student the creative world often feels huge and out of reach. But now I feel it is completely within my grasp like I have earned my place and truly belong. I feel like I now have a community and a space to grow and that is priceless."
Arianna Cárdenas
Universidad Casa Grande
Ecuador
The Roger Hatchuel Student Academy taught me that real impact doesn’t come from playing it safe, but from ideas that are both strategically sound and creatively bold. I learned to embrace the friction between different ways of thinking, and saw how collaboration across cultures and disciplines leads to stronger, more meaningful work.
Isabel van Munster
Student
University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Roger Hatchuel Academy was a turning point for me. It made me feel seen, valued, and ready to dream bigger. I came from Kazakhstan, but left Cannes with a global mindset and a new creative family. Every young creative deserves to feel this.
Ayazhan Maulitova
Student
Turan University, Kazakhstan
Roger Hatchuel Student Academy 2025
How to Apply
Student nominations for this Academy are put forward by our Festival Representatives. If you’re interested in attending, please get in touch with your country’s representative for more information.
Top tips for crafting your application video
Every year, we receive hundreds of applications from around the world. How can you stand out from the crowd? Your two-minute video should show us who you are and how you’re creative. Be memorable. Show us your personality, your passion, your creativity. Tell us why you deserve a ticket to Cannes Lions.
Academy Dean
Lissy Calienes
Associate Instructional Professor & Senior Lecturer, Advertising Department, College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida
Lissy Calienes is a seasoned creative strategist, designer, visual storyteller, and educator whose three-decade career has taken her through advertising, film, and academia. Currently, she shapes the minds of future advertising professionals as an Associate Instructional Professor in the University of Florida’s Advertising Department.
Born to Cuban immigrants in Wilmington, Delaware and raised in Puerto Rico, Lissy learned to be culturally adaptable from an early age. She has lived in the Caribbean and both coasts of the U.S., and worked globally, with a focus on Latin America, U.S. Hispanic, and multicultural markets.
Lissy has held senior leadership roles agency side in both Creative and Strategic Planning, working on global, regional and national client business for some of the top brands in the world including Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and Toyota. Her advertising work has earned recognition by AdAge, Adweek and POPAI, and her films have been featured at Sundance and other international festivals.
Lissy is dedicated to advancing Latino representation through her work in advertising and film. She’s helped create groundbreaking multicultural campaigns, including Toyota’s first bilingual Super Bowl commercial, and her films tell heartfelt stories of Latino communities in the U.S. Her commitment extends to her role as a mentor and advisor to students and multicultural student organizations, her active involvement on the Community + Culture Committee, and her work as a juror for the ANA Multicultural Excellence Awards.
Fascinated by people, Lissy’s research focuses on human-centered design and her PhD uncovers how to communicate authenticity through design in retail spaces.
A lifelong learner, eternal optimist and creative problem solver, Lissy brings passion and insight to everything she does.