Nation Media group journalist Annie Njanja has landed a lucrative opportunity at Columbia University in the United States.
Njanja, who specialises in business, lifestyle, gender and health reporting, bagged a full scholarship to pursue a Master's Degree in Data Journalism at the prestigious school.
Columbia Univerisity is a private Ivy League research institution in New York City and the degree is a three-semester program that provides the hands-on training needed to tell deeply reported data-driven stories in the public interest.
"The current era needs journalists able to extract stories and meaning from data and massive information flows. This new degree trains students to be confident about using data in furtherance of the journalistic mission.
"Applicants do not need to have experience with data or computation to enroll in this program. All students are required to attend foundational courses that allow those with no data experience to hone their skills in data acquisition, extraction and analysis," the university notes on its website.
One of the most notable alumni from the University is BBC correspondent Larry Madowo. He has been a Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Economics and Business Journalism at Columbia University in New York and the BBC Africa Business Editor.
Njanja also specialises in reporting on women’s and children’s issues. The journalist has also been published in Uganda’s Daily Monitor.
At the same time, Davis Makori was among eleven individuals who were selected to be a part of the latest cohort of Obama Foundation Scholars in the Columbia World Projects.
Makori was chosen for making positive changes in advocating for the protection of civilians from armed conflict.
“This pandemic has changed all of our lives and it has revealed some of the deep-rooted inequities that the 2018 and 2019 scholars have committed their lives to solving. Over the past several months, the scholars have found innovative ways to pivot their work to meet the needs of people in their communities.
“The world needs more leaders like this, now more than ever, and we look forward to supporting our third cohort of scholars on their leadership journeys," Obama Foundation CEO David Simas stated.
