We offer each of our trainees a summer bursary of up to £1,000 every summer of their degree to spend on journalism work experience or a journalism project, giving them the unique opportunity to travel and explore the areas of journalism they are passionate about.
School of Journalism trainee Callum Humphrey shared how he used his to cover the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup with The School of Journalism’s sister sports agency, Sportsbeat.
Not many 19-year-olds can say they have worked on a World Cup.
Having spent years covering sport at grassroots level, I was desperate for a chance to test myself on the biggest stage.
With 2026 bringing the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup to the UK for the first time since 2009, the School of Journalism’s summer bursary offered me the opportunity to cover one of the biggest events in world cricket.
After speaking with James Toney, managing editor of Beat Media Group, it became clear the team at Sportsbeat were willing to welcome me with open arms.
Over more than three weeks, I covered nearly half the games, mixing with some of the best journalists in the sport in the press boxes of Lord’s, The Oval, Old Trafford and Edgbaston and more.
My match reports for Sportsbeat’s partner, the International Cricket Council (ICC), were featured on their website and on various other publications around the world, as well as being fed into the inboxes of leading cricket journalists via the ICC’s mailing list.
I had bylines in two Scottish papers, asked questions to a whole host of players in post-match press conferences and interviewed Sri Lanka’s Harshitha Samarawickrama ahead of her side’s game against Scotland.
Covering both semi-finals and the final, at The Oval and Lord’s respectively, was surreal and an occasion I will remember for a long, long time – at points I had to remind myself I was a journalist with a job to do, not just a fan enjoying a good day out!
The challenge of filing accurate copy with strict deadlines was exhilarating and certainly a learning process.
Finding the courage to ask questions in press conferences and introduce myself to fellow journalists was initially daunting, but every conversation helped grow my confidence, and by the end of the tournament it felt like second nature.
I can honestly say I finished the tournament as a better journalist than I started it, with plenty of new contacts and a boosted level of self-assurance.
@10_callum.journo It’s getting busy at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final! @ICC @HomeOfCricket #ICCWomenst20worldcup2026 ♬ оригинальный звук – DorsiaEnjoyer
I couldn’t have done it without the brilliant Sportsbeat team around me – Charlie Bennett, Paul Eddison and Milly McEvoy – who helped me endlessly along the way, teaching me the tricks of the trade while making me feel part of the team from day one.
Travelling all over the country, staying in hotel rooms and dealing with my fair share of delayed trains taught me valuable skills, both in life and the industry, and the £1,000 grant from News Associates ensured I could do all of that without any financial hit.
And I can truly say I loved every minute of it.
The jam-packed train journeys, the stuffy hotel rooms, the sweaty palms as the game sprinted to a close, my deadline rapidly ticking down.
The rush to make the post-match ‘presser’ on the other side of the ground, the privilege of watching the world’s best in front of my eyes and the shock of bumping into my heroes in lifts and in toilets.
The buzz that came with it, alongside the satisfaction of seeing my work published globally, will take some time to wear off.
Not long ago, covering a World Cup was something I could only dream about. Thanks to the School of Journalism’s summer bursary, that dream became a reality after just one year of studying – and it has only made me more excited for what is to come.
You can read more of our summer bursary blogs here.
Sign up to our free The School of Journalism taster sessions here.