Mumbai's MET IMM's Stellar Season: Students win Cannes Lions Internship and IIFF Film Award

Mumbai, May 20^th, 2026: In what has been a landmark few weeks for the MET Institute of Mass Media (MET IMM), students from Mumbai's leading postgraduate media school have earned two remarkable international honours: prestigious internships at Cannes Lions 2026 in France, and an award at the Indian International Film Festival (IIFF).

Akshata Hegde and Althea Annie Sequeira, students of MET IMM, represented N H Studioz at  Cannes Lions, embedded within the International film distribution department of a global film business for their three-month internship. Their work spanned international film sales, business development meetings with global buyers, client network expansion, and film branding strategy – substantive responsibilities that went well beyond the typical intern brief.

Cannes Lions draws professionals from over 90 countries each year. Intern selection is competitive and merit-driven, with no concessions for age or inexperience. That MET IMM students not only earned those spots but performed substantive, industry-level work over three months is a reflection of both individual ability and the rigour of training the institute delivers.

Adding to the momentum, a student film from MET IMM has won recognition at the Indian International Film Festival (IIFF). ‘The White House of Circles’, a documentary, explores the world of Warli painting, one of India's oldest and most distinctive indigenous art forms, through a lens that is as much social as it is aesthetic. The IIFF recognition further underlines MET IMM's strength in film and entertainment education, and its commitment to storytelling that goes beyond craft to carry genuine cultural weight.

Dr Priya Menon Nair, MET Institute of Mass Media, said, "We have always believed that the best education happens when classroom studies are supplemented with real-world experience. The prestigious Cannes internships combined with our IIFF recognition speak to the kind of students MET IMM produces: ones who are ready before the industry expects them to be.”

Pankaj Bhuiyan, Hon. Trustee, MET, said: "These recognitions, Cannes Lions and IIFF in the same season, are a source of immense pride for the entire MET family. Our students competing with, and holding their own against, the best young talent globally is the clearest possible validation of what we set out to build. Storytelling, creativity, and professional excellence have always been at the heart of MET IMM, and our students are now carrying that to the world's biggest stages."

Established in 2005 under the Mumbai Educational Trust, MET IMM is one of India's leading postgraduate media institutions, with strong industry relationships spanning Jio Creative Labs, Zee, Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, Viacom18, Disney Star, and Netflix, among others. The institute holds a Diamond rating from the QS I-GAUGE Indian College Rating (2025) and was named Outstanding Institute for Mass Media Management by the World Education Summit in 2019.

The achievements reflect MET IMM's long-standing commitment to producing media professionals who are equipped to compete and succeed on a global stage.

About MET: 

Established in 1989, with a mission to redefine the system of education, Mumbai Educational Trust (MET) is a professionally managed, multi-disciplinary and multi-faceted oasis of knowledge. Its premier educational institutes conduct university-accredited and autonomous courses. Its premier educational institutes conduct university-accredited and autonomous courses. 

At MET, thousands of students and faculty are involved in delivering unique learning systems through ultra-modern academic rigour and infrastructure. MET Institutes are ISO certified, with affiliations to the University of Mumbai, Directorate of Technical Education, All India Council of Technical Education, MSBTE, Pharmacy Council of India, C-DAC - Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), London. MET is a recognised teaching centre of the awarding body University of London and also has strategic institutional collaborations with the NCC Education, UK. There are about 21 institutes housed in state-of-the-art campuses located in Mumbai and Nashik. 

Note: The views expressed in this article are of  MET Institute and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha.