Twelve bursaries awarded in first JDF round of 2021

Twelve bursaries have been awarded in the first Journalism Diversity Fund round of 2021.
These aspiring journalists were awarded funding to begin NCTJ-accredited courses in the 2021-22 academic year, and bursaries can help fund their course fees and/or living expenses.

Twenty shortlisted candidates were interviewed remotely on Friday, 30 April. The interview panels included senior managers and editors from the NCTJ, CNN, DMG Media, Financial Times, Insider Inc, ITV News, Reach plc, The Printing Charity, Verizon Media and Yahoo UK.

Bursaries were awarded to:

Yasmin Al-najar, News Associates Manchester
Joshua Askew, PA Training
Lucy Edwards, University of Sheffield
Daniel Hill, Ulster University
Simran Johal, News Associates London
Keifer MacDonald, News Associates Manchester
Zara Qureshi, News Associates London
Danni Scott, PA Training
Daz Skubich, News Associates Manchester
Lowie Trevena, News Associates London
Lauren White, University of Sheffield
Alisa Wylie, Glasgow Clyde College

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 more than 400 bursaries since 2005.

Applications are now open for the second round of 2021, until Wednesday, 23 June.

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