Thousands of young creatives met with the world’s top advertising creative directors at ADC Portfolio Night 12 last night, seeking feedback on the work they’ve poured their blood, sweat and tears into over the course of their entire educations and burgeoning professional careers.

This annual meeting of the minds has become the largest advertising event in the world, making it the best way into the industry for copywriters, art directors and designers from every corner of the globe. And with the launch of this year’s Portfolio Night All-Stars, that opportunity for young creatives just got even bigger.

Through this exciting program, one All-Star will be selected from each city and invited to New York for a weeklong creative challenge made possible by JWT. These 24 international all-stars will team up to work on a brief for a JWT global client, gaining invaluable experience and exposure to the industry, as well as the lasting bonds that are formed when linguistic, cultural and creative boundaries must be dissolved in the pursuit of a great idea.

It’s the kind of experience you just don’t get in ad school.

As a young creative, there’s nothing more exciting than having your work genuinely considered by a top executive. While Portfolio Night has been providing that chance for over a decade now, Portfolio Night All-Stars is taking the program’s educational spirit to the next level by testing fledgling creatives’ ideas, skills and perseverance in a real-world, hands-on development process. It’s the kind of experience you just can’t get in ad school. Portfolio Night All-Stars 2013 was a smashing success, with Ford bringing all six of the All-Stars’ campaigns for the Focus brand to the table at their meeting of creative agencies.

Everyone has to start somewhere, but becoming an All-Star is like strapping on a jet-pack and turbo-charging your future.

The participating cities this year are: Athens, Austin, Beijing, Beirut, Boston, Budapest, Cape Town, Chicago, Detroit, Dubai, Johannesburg, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Montreal, Mumbai, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Shanghai, Singapore, Tel Aviv, Tokyo and Toronto. By bringing together the top talent from these Portfolio Night locations, ADC and JWT aim to elevate and inspire young creatives, providing access to not only incredible professional advancement but a motivational goal for industry hopefuls. Everyone has to start somewhere, but becoming an All-Star is like strapping on a jet-pack and turbo-charging your future.

So if you’re one of the nervous many that survived your speed-dating style portfolio review tonight, congratulations: you’ve taken the first step in launching the career of your dreams. Maybe we’ll see you in New York!

Portfolio Night All-Stars will take place August 4-8, 2014. Check out the 2013 reality series here.

ADC gratefully acknowledges Shutterstock, Twitter, Squarespace, VCU Brandcenter and Wayinfor their support of ADC Portfolio Night.