We offer each of our trainees up to £1,000 every summer of their degree to spend on journalism work experience or a journalism project. It’s part of what makes us the UK’s most practical journalism degree.
Here, trainee Jordan Baker tells us about how she spent her bursary on a trip to Berlin combining history, travel and investigative journalism.
“After completing my first year at the School of Journalism, I opted to use the money to work on a project.
I travelled to Berlin to get footage and expert knowledge for three videos I produced to accompany my project.
My project consists of three videos exploring Berlin including speaking to first-time visitors to the capital city, talking politics and Brexit from the perspectives of a Brit living in Germany, and a German living in England, to really get a feel of things alongside a written piece to accompany my videos which was published on our news website Mancunian Matters.
I also attended the Neue Deutsche Härte and industrial metal legends Rammstein’s concert in Milton Keynes to finish off my German trip and experience an all-German speaking concert in my own country, which was certainly unique.
I was very grateful for this opportunity as it allowed me to work independently on my journalism skills, particularly mobile journalism. Not to mention the fact the bursary allowed me to do this all in a foreign country. And the iPad we got given as part of our toolkit on day one allowed me to create high-quality videos.
I chose Berlin as it is a specimen of living history, you only have to walk down the street to see iconic sites like the Brandenburg Gate or the various Holocaust memorials which remind you of the harrowing times the city once went through.
Being given the experience of meeting Mark Meadows during my time, who gave me an excellent tour of the historic surroundings and an even better interview, allowed me to emerge from my shell and get over the fear of speaking to strangers, which is obviously a key skill for journalists.
The freedom the bursary gave me definitely improved my skills and further boosted my confidence and I am incredibly grateful I was able to explore such a wonderful city.
What I enjoyed most about the summer project, is that it isn’t like conventional university, it’s incredibly rare to see a mainstream university give all trainees the chance to improve on their proficiency for their selected degree during their summer break.
While the project was technically work-based, it was something I found to be fun that helped to break up the long summer.
I already can’t wait to start thinking of plans for next year’s project and to see where the School of Journalism will take me next.”
To apply for our NCTJ-accredited BA (Hons) Journalism degree in London, here is the UCAS code you need:
Course code: MUJO
Institution code: P63
Campus: London (L)
Want to know how to land your dream journalism work experience placement? Click here.
Got a question about how to become a journalist? Email [email protected] and check out our other getting into journalism blogs here.