Fifteen bursaries award in fourth and final round of 2020

Fifteen bursaries have been awarded in the fourth and final Journalism Diversity Fund round of 2020, which marks the 15th anniversary of the fund.

These aspiring journalists were awarded funding to begin NCTJ-accredited courses in the 2020-21 academic year, and bursaries can help fund their course fees and/or living expenses.

Nineteen shortlisted candidates were interviewed remotely on Friday, 4 December. The interview panels included senior managers and editors from the NCTJ, BBC, BuzzFeed UK, Daily Mail Group, Dow Jones, Financial Times, ITV News, Newsquest, News UK, Reach plc and Sky Sports News.

At their interviews, the candidates were questioned on their passion for journalism, financial need and diversity.

The fund was set up in 2005 with a donation of £100,000 from NLA media access, with the aim of encouraging more diverse people to train as journalists and making newsrooms better reflect the communities they serve.

Thanks to the financial support of the industry, we have now awarded 411 bursaries since 2005.

The application schedule for 2021 will be available shortly.

For more information, please contact journalismdiversityfund@nctj.com.