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The Financial Times has launched its first 'digital learning week', in a bid to "inform, educate and encourage dialogue around digital and social media topics and trends".

According to a release the digital learning week, which starts tomorrow (Tuesday 9 October) and will run until Thursday (11 October), will offer staff a host of panel discussions and presentations, as well as more practical masterclasses, on topics covering five main themes: social media, mobile, digital advertising, data analytics and other digital trends in the media industry.

The FT's corporate communications manager Emily Gibbs told Journalism.co.uk that it is hoped that the wider project "will create a legacy of digital learning and upskilling our staff in all things digital and social media".

"We are holding [the digital learning] week and then we're also developing a digital framework which will identify what it means for our FT staff to be digitally competent so that will both be an important tool for all of our current staff and also useful for new hires and new recruitment."

She said the five themes were based on responses from staff to a survey which asked them what they would like to learn about in the digital space.

"We've got a range of really exciting internal and external speakers, so there are some key sessions which will be either panels or keynotes talking about those broad themes.

"... But a really important part of the week as well is that interactive element; so we've got masterclasses and hands-on sessions, things like successful blogging, how to use Twitter and other tools that will be beneficial for staff both personally and of course professionally at the FT as well."

The release adds that the 'digital learning week' will run in London as well as other cities such as New York, Singapore and Tokyo.

"Speakers include executives from Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Enders, PwC, BBC, New York Times, Kraft, Edelman, Chartbeat, technode.com, VML Qais and Pearson, plus experts in their fields from within the FT."

Speaking to Journalism.co.uk, Gibbs added that within the FT alone "there's so much knowledge that can be shared".

She said that the aim is that this will be "the first of hopefully many", with hopes to run such an event at other Pearson companies.

While the two are not linked, earlier this year the FT also ran its first first hack day, which brought together developers and external guests to build new products using media APIs.

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