Scholarship Program for Journalists from Greece in collaboration with Columbia Journalism School

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) presented at a Press Conference in Greece a three-year grant for intensive summer journalism courses for younger as well as more experienced journalists and journalism graduates. The program is exclusively supported by the SNF, and implemented by Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, in New York City.

The SNF’s grant towards Columbia University’s Journalism School, for the purposes of the program’s implementation, totals $1.3 million and covers up to 18 full scholarships annually. Coverage includes tuition, travel expenses to/from NY, accommodation, local transport and meals for each participant for the duration of the program they are attending. The application process for this year’s postgraduate programs, supported by the SNF, begins on January 17th and will last until April 1st.

The aim of the program is to provide journalists from Greece with the proper tools to enhance their skills so that they may, in turn, raise the level of their work and contribute to Greek journalism.

The selection of participants for the programs is carried out exclusively by the School of Journalism at Columbia University, which is solely responsible for the process and the selection criteria for accepting participants. The SNF does not participate in the evaluation/selection process. For further information on the application process, please visit the following website.

The three-year grant includes intensive summer courses, which are developed in three categories: reporting with the use of video, investigative journalism, and coding and data analysis.

Specifically, it includes the following:

1. Multimedia Reporting Course – This course focuses on how to conceive and structure a story, how to handle a camera, how to use post‐production software, and how to combine audio and video visual components to deliver a story. The program is structured for interactive discussion and lab work, which is done in small groups. Throughout the program, participants will meet with industry innovators and leading video producers, as well as visit the video newsrooms of mid- and large-size news organizations, like Vice, Mashable, Bustle, and the New York Times.

The program takes place between June 12 and June 30, 2017.
Fill out and submit your application in the following link.

2. Intensive Reporting Course – Training for experienced professionals worldwide in advanced investigative journalism reporting techniques. The course covers the fundamentals such as the methodology for developing story ideas and launching a project, the criteria for testing a hypothesis, how to find documents and data internationally to support the reporting, understanding and utilizing financial documents, varied methods for interviewing sources, ethically sourcing information, structuring an investigative project, and writing the longform narrative.

The program takes place between July 10 and July 28, 2017.
Fill out and submit your application in the following link.

3. The Lede Program – An intensive, post-bac certification program from Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism and Department of Computer Science designed to equip journalists and storytellers of all kinds with the computational skills needed to turn data into narrative, perform in-depth investigations, harness APIs, explain complex subjects, write data-driven stories, process document dumps, find insights and leads, perform in-depth investigations, etc.

The program takes place between May 22 and September 11, 2017.
Fill out and submit your application in the following link.

For the implementation of this program, the SNF partnered with Greek journalist, Mrs. Anna-Kynthia Bousdoukou, who will assist interested candidates, providing guidance with regards to the courses, the application process, communication with Columbia University, etc. Neither Mrs. Bousdoukou, nor the SNF will have any involvement in the evaluation and selection of participants, who will be selected directly by the University.

“Amidst this difficult and challenging period for all, the SNF’s initiative gives professional journalists the opportunity to attend these summer courses at Columbia University’s School of Journalism. During this time of crisis, it is very encouraging that colleagues will be able to collaborate with renowned faculty members and find themselves in some of the largest media organizations worldwide,” stated Anna-Kynthia Bousdoukou, journalist and SNF’s advisor for this program.

“We are delighted to be able to contribute so that journalists from Greece may have the opportunity to attend one of the top Journalism Schools worldwide and take advantage of the intensive courses that it offers. The SNF offers full scholarships, which means that participants will be able to enjoy studying, as well as experience life in New York City”, said Lenia Vlavianou, Director of Public Affairs at the SNF.

Janine Jaquet, Associate Dean, Alumni & Development, Strategy and Professional Programs at the Graduate School of Journalism of Columbia University, said, “This generous grant by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation in Journalism is designed to have meaningful, immediate and lasting impact on the profession in Greece. My colleagues and I at the Columbia School of Journalism look forward to welcoming the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Scholars to our campus beginning this summer.”

For any questions concerning the program, please contact Columbia.media@snf.org.