The Ferret — Scotland’s multi award-winning investigative website — is pleased to announce a new partnership with Stirling University, with our reporters mentoring students studying journalism.
Under the new partnership, post-graduate students at Stirling University studying for a MSc in International Journalism, can opt to produce a journalistic project under the supervision of The Ferret instead of writing a dissertation.
The teaching partnership, a four year agreement, cements a relationship between The Ferret and Stirling University dating back several years, with lectures and workshops previously delivered on an informal basis.
Journalists with The Ferret started working with students last summer and two reports will be published on our website on 30 and 31 January 2024.
One student, Jennifer Alexander-Jones, investigated the dark side of the cosmetics industry and its devastating impact on young women. Another, Kai Ford, travelled to Ukraine and produced three stories, a photo essay and a podcast.
Mentors include Ferret co-editor Billy Briggs, environmental reporter Paul Dobson and investigative reporters Jamie Mann and Ally Tibbitt.
The five students we mentored produced some excellent work. We look forward to continuing and developing the partnership with Stirling University.
Billy Briggs, Ferret co-editor
Billy Briggs said: “The Ferret is delighted to partner with Stirling University on this project, as teaching, and hopefully inspiring, younger investigative journalists is something we’re committed to as an organisation.
“Our mentors included those who have come to The Ferret as young journalists and gone on to be award-winning and high achieving members of our team. This experience means we see the value of nurturing student talent.
“The five students we mentored produced some excellent work. We look forward to continuing and developing the partnership with Stirling University and expect it to go from strength-to-strength.”
James Morrison, associate professor in journalism studies and MSc international journalism programme director at Stirling University, said: “The Ferret has a deserved reputation as one of Britain’s (and certainly Scotland’s) pre-eminent investigative journalism operations, so we could hardly ask for a more expert team of collaborators to steer our students as they battle to dig out stories that vested interests would prefer to remain buried.
He added: “Within weeks of finalising the partnership, our students were benefiting from in-depth mentoring and supervision as they investigated a range of stories on topical issues of public concern for their summer investigative projects.”
For more information contact billy@theferret.scot
Main image: University of Stirling
Great news! Good luck to all involved in this initiative; I hope it will be successful.