• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, June 10, 2020

WPP kicked off a new virtual learning series for college students and early-career talent this week called NextGen Leaders. It’s designed to offer learning and collaboration opportunities within the organization that otherwise might be obtained during in-office internships, many of which have been cancelled to due COVID.

The 10-week series features leaders across WPP agency brands and practices as well as clients and others from the holding company’s broader network. They will lead sessions covering industry trends, marketing strategy and data science as well as experience design, emerging technology and culture.

The series kicked off on Monday with a live address from CEO Mark Read and Chief People Officer Jacqui Canney.

“It's an industry that is full of fantastic people, challenging problems, interesting clients,” Read stated in his remarks. “We cover creativity and technology and many other ways the world is changing. It's fast moving, it's competitive and it's never boring.”

The program is being coordinated with colleges and universities in the US and the UK, and strives to admit a diverse a pool of up to 2,000 candidates, who can join at any stage during the program.

Curriculum and application details can be found here.