LEADING media figures are to take part in a university conference to explore the huge changes facing the industry.

Senior figures from the BBC, local and national TV and academics will debate the future of the media industry at Sunderland University on April 26.

The Acamedia conference will be opened by Lord David Puttnam, a former chancellor of the University, and chaired by Steve Hewlett, a presenter of BBC Radio 4’s The Media Show, The conference will provide a platform for discussions on best practices and routes into the profession and will address the upheaval the media world is undergoing.

Graeme Thompson, Dean of Arts, Design and Media at the University of Sunderland, said: "Acamedia will delve into the extraordinary changes the media industries are undergoing – from television and film to digital content services and publishing – and then look at how media teaching needs to adapt to reflect these fundamental shifts.

"We’ll hear from content creators and commissioners, entrepreneurs, innovators, academics and education professionals who will help us look at how these changes impact on the higher education and media industries and what this should mean for the people who fuel the creative ideas and services of the future".

Confirmed panelists include: Alex Connock, director of new business at Elizabeth Murdoch’s Shine; Dan Clarke, editor of the BBC’s long-running children’s current affairs show Newsround; and Christine Bellamy from the BBC’s R&D team.

The increasing importance on social media on teenagers and students will also be discussed by Paula Le Dieu, digital director at the Mozilla Foundation and a former director of digital at the British Film Institute.

The conference runs from 8.30am to 5pm on Friday, April 26 at the Cinema, Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter’s in Sunderland.

For more information, or to book a place for the conference, please visit www.acamedia-conference.co.uk or call 0191 515 3199.