Financial Times to host conference for NCTJ student representatives

Student representatives from NCTJ courses, apprenticeship schemes and the Community News Project will gather at the 2020 Student Council conference, hosted by the Financial Times.

The event, on Friday, 31 January, provides a forum for students to share their feedback about the NCTJ training scheme and to exchange information and ideas.

Attendees will also receive valuable advice from a panel of editors in a session chaired by Scheherazade Daneshkhu, director of editorial talent at the Financial Times.

Scheherazade will be joined by Will Harrison, editor, Newsquest South London; Louise Hastings, managing editor, Sky News; Luke Jacobs, brands editor, KentLive; and Mike Shallcross, associate publisher, Mark Allen Group.

The conference will welcome Rhoda Morrison, reporter at the Bury Free Press, and Hannah Butler, sub-editor at The Guardian, to share their experiences of sitting the National Qualification in Journalism (NQJ) and the benefits of qualifying as a senior reporter.

Students will also receive tips on finding their first journalism jobs from Stuart Thomas, job board manager at Cision Jobs.

Joanne Butcher, chief executive of the NCTJ, said: “Our students, apprentices and trainees are at the heart of the NCTJ, so this event is always so important in shaping how we continue to grow and develop.

“Our thanks go to the Financial Times for their continued support, and everyone who is joining us for what promises to be a wonderful and rewarding day.”

Patrick Jenkins, newly appointed deputy editor of the Financial Times, will also join the conference to present the Diploma in Journalism awards, which go to the top-performing students in the diploma exams during the 2018-19 academic year. All winners will receive a certificate and a cheque for £250.