NFP Fellowships Available: Internet for Journalists Course at RNTC Netherlands

Deadline: 2 October 2012

2 October is the deadline for fellowship applications for RNTC's Internet for Journalists course (13 May - 21 June 2013). The Netherlands Fellowship Programme offers fellowships for people from a number of countries. Check the criteria below.

2013

• Course dates: 13 May – 21 June 2013
• RNTC deadline: 1 April 2013
• NFP deadline: 2 October 2012
• Media: Radio, Television and Internet
• Type of Diploma: Certificate
• Printable infosheets: 13 May - 21 June 2013

2014

• Course dates: 12 May - 20 June 2014
• RNTC deadline: 1 April 2014
• NFP deadline: 1 October 2013
• Media: Radio, Television and Internet
• Type of Diploma: Certificate
• Printable infosheets: to be published

COURSE AIM: The Internet has without doubt been responsible for the most far-reaching revolution in the way news is researched, packaged and reported. Traditional boundaries have been blurred or obliterated, roles redefined, expectations irreversibly changed. Examine the challenges and opportunities while also learning vital new skills during this six-week course. The course Internet for Journalists will strengthen your capacity as a broadcast, print or online journalist to use the internet (including social media) for the purposes of research, publication and distribution.

WHO`S IT FOR: Mid-career journalists with at least three years experience in broadcast, print and/or online journalism.

COURSE OUTLINE

Upon completing the course, you will be familiar with:

• Using the internet (including social media platforms) to check, research and gather information and ideas for stories, as well as to generate attention and feedback
• Writing, sourcing and making digital photos, recording and editing audio and video for online publication in a variety of online journalistic formats
• The characteristics of journalistic websites (broadcast, print and online) and examples of best practice
• The impact and use of social media in the practice of online and multimedia journalism
• Working in a multimedia newsroom, generating story ideas and content for a multimedia website

LEARNING OUTCOMES: The course will deepen understanding of the internet as a resource and as a publishing medium for journalists. Theoretical and practical work will focus on writing and reporting for the internet using text, photos, audio and video. Attention will be given to effective online research, as well as to the publication of stories, using a variety of content management systems and social media platforms. Practical exercises and assignments will be analysed and evaluated in group feedback sessions. Working visits to broadcast, print and online newsrooms will enable the participants to examine the impact of new and social media on the practice of journalism – highlighting ethical issues and changes in working practices. For their final assignments the participants will work in a multimedia newsroom generating news, blogs, dossiers and multimedia features which they will publish on the course website.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Applicants must meet the following admissions requirements:

• You are currently working as a broadcast, print or online journalist and have a minimum of three years experience in journalism
• You have successfully followed secondary education, and professional education or training in media
• You are used to working with computers, using the Internet and have good computer skills
• Your speaking and writing skills in English (the course language) are sufficient
• You must submit a letter of motivation in English (150-250 words) explaining why you want to follow the course

ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: Since English is the working language of the course, proficiency in English is an absolute necessity. Applications from countries where English is not the official language or the language of education should include a certified statement from a recognised authority establishing proficiency in English. Successful candidates will have a level of proficiency in English equivalent to scores of 550 (paper based) or 213 (computer based) for TOEFL and 6 for IELTS. Those whose first language is English or who come from countries in which English is their national language, and/or have completed higher education taught entirely in English will have the required level of proficiency. If you are in doubt about whether you are sufficiently proficient in English please contact RNTC at info@rntc.nl. After submitting a motivation letter, a phone/Skype interview will be conducted with shortlisted applicants to assess the level of understanding of spoken English and discuss expectations for the course.

FEES, COSTS AND FELLOWSHIPS: The course fee of EUR 3,500 (2012 and 2013) or EUR 3,580 (2014) includes pick-up from the airport, insurance, and travel assignments. Participants must cover their own costs of travel, accommodation and meals. These costs are estimated at EUR 599 per week. More information on costs can be found here. If you are looking for a fellowship to sponsor your study at RNTC then you must take a number of steps. RNTC will assist you in making it possible. There are NFP-fellowships available for this course.

APPLY FOR THIS COURSE THROUGH THE NETHERLANDS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME

WHAT IS NFP? The Netherlands Fellowship Programme (NFP) is a demand-driven fellowship programme designed to foster capacity building within organisations by providing training and education to their mid-career staff members. NFP-fellowships cover your travel costs, accommodation and course fee. NFP is funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the budget for development co-operation, and run by NUFFIC, the Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education. Half of the available fellowships are awarded to women, and simultaneously, half of the available budget is spent on candidates from sub-Saharan Africa. Apart from this, priority is given to candidates from deprived groups and/or from marginalized regions.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR NFP?

To be eligible for a scholarship under the Netherlands Fellowship Programmes you must meet the following criteria:

• You are a a national of one of the following 60 countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Autonomous Palestinian Territories, Bangladesh, Benin, Burma, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Macedonia, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Surinam, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
• You are not applying for more than one course with the same NFP application deadline
• You are not employed by a multinational corporation, a UN organisation, the World Bank, the IMF, a bilateral or multinational donor organisation, or a large national and/or commercial organisation
• You have not already received two NFP fellowships for short courses in the past
• You have not already received an NFP fellowship for a short courses in the year prior to this fellowship application

WHAT HAS CHANGED IN THE NEW PROCEDURE?

• Nuffic introduced a new application procedure for the NFP programme in 2010. The most important changes were that:
• NFP applicants no longer have to receive a conditional letter of acceptance for the course they are applying for from RNTC before applying for an NFP fellowship
• RNTC course applications and NFP fellowship applications can be submitted at the same time
• NFP applications are no longer submitted to the Fellowship Officers of the appropriate Dutch Embassy but are submitted directly to the NUFFIC either online or by post
• NFP applicants can check the status of their application online and will be informed automatically of the progress, acceptance and/or rejection of their NFP application
• A paper application form is no longer available for download on the Nuffic website. All applications have to be submitted through SOL. Applicants who encounter difficulties while applying online can contact Nuffic for assistance from the NFP/SOL team. Candidates who continue to experience problems with SOL, will receive a paper application form from Nuffic by e-mail. Applying on paper will be a last resort for those candidates who have serious difficulties submitting their applications online. Please note that Nuffic will send paper forms up to/until two weeks before the applicable paper application deadline. If you are submitting your NFP application online or on paper, make sure that you do so before the deadline for online and paper (a month earlier) applications. You can find the application deadline in the course information sheets.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about the online application system and application criteria, please visit the Nuffic website.

To apply for NFP through SOL, please go to: Scholarships On-Line (SOL). SOL opens two months before the application deadline. An example: if the deadline would be 1 May, the first day you can enter a SOL-application is 1 March.

Allow 12-16 weeks from the online application deadline for the NFP application process to be completed. You will be informed automatically both if your application is rejected and if it is successful. All NFP applicants will be able to check the status of their application by logging on to the SOL website.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For queries:info@rntc.nl.

For submissions: via the online application

Website: http://www.rntc.nl