Imogen Crispe first winner of the Indian Newslink journalism scholarship. Photo: Indian Newslink

Pacific Scoop
By Venkat Raman,  editor of Indian Newslink

Indian Newslink is happy and proud to announce the selection of the first recipient of the Indian Newslink Journalism Scholarship Award for 2010.

Aucklander Imogen Crispe will pursue a postgraduate diploma programme in journalism at AUT University. Indian Newslink will pay the tuition fee, student services fee and student association fee.

Imogen Crispe, 22, is a BA (Honours) graduate from the University of Auckland. She has had diverse life experience since she graduated, including working as an au pair with a family in France, as an Oxfam volunteer and as an event organiser in a breast cancer fundraising campaign.

When told that she was selected for the Indian Newslink Journalism Scholarship to pursue a postgraduate diploma at the AUT University, she thought she was dreaming.

But as an employee at a headhunting firm in downtown Auckland when she received an official confirmation, she was thrilled.

“I still cannot quite believe that I have won the scholarship.  I am looking forward to pursuing a career in journalism,” she said.

The university has a robust selection process with stringent criteria and Imogen has every reason to be proud.

“Winning this scholarship has set me on a new and exciting path, where I hope to learn a lot and find a job that is enjoyable,” she said.

Imogen is the first recipient of the Indian Newslink Journalism Scholarship established this year to help boost the standard and practice of the profession in New Zealand.

The scholarship is open to all New Zealanders, irrespective of their ethnic grouping, provided they are either citizens or permanent residents.

The newspaper will pay the tuition fee, student services fee and student association fee for one student admitted every year into one of AUT’s one-year postgraduate programmes, including the Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies (Journalism) and the Bachelor of Communication Studies (Honours).

The decision of the university is final.

An impressive career
Imogen, which means ‘innocent and blameless’ in the Celtic language, was born in the UK but moved 12 years ago to New Zealand with her younger sister Diana and parents (Simon and Marianne, both New Zealanders) to Dubai, where her father is employed. She arrived in New Zealand to pursue her studies as a resident scholar at the Diocesan School for Girls in Epsom, Auckland.

“But that was also an experience to remember,” she said about an earlier period of school bullying.

Following the completion of her honours degree in philosophy and French at the University of Auckland, she went to Paris to be an au pair (nanny), living with a French family and looking after three children.

Imogen said this was an educational and thrilling experience.

“I improved my French, made new friends and explored new places.  When I got back to Auckland, I spent a few months looking for a job and for the past two months I have been working at an executive search firm as their office and research assistant,” she said.

Imogen said she was grateful to Indian Newslink for establishing the scholarship.

“Since obtaining the scholarship, I have discovered that this is a wide-reaching and well-known newspaper. It is inspiring to be affiliated with such a highly regarded and well read newspaper,” she said.

Imogen will have the option to work for Indian Newslink if she so desires on completion of the course.

The selection panel said Imogen has had diverse life experience since she graduated, including working as an Oxfam volunteer and as an event organiser in a breast cancer fundraising campaign.

One of her referees in the media industry said Imogen would make a good journalist.

Logical partnership
AUT vice-chancellor Derek McCormack said he was thrilled that his university had entered into this partnership with Indian Newslink.

“AUT University is delighted that Imogen has been awarded the inaugural Indian Newslink Journalism Scholarship. We are grateful for this newspaper’s support of the university’s post graduate communications programmes. The scholarship is aimed at fostering professional standards in journalism, so it is a logical partnership,” he said.

Indian Newslink managing director and publisher Ravin Lal said the scholarship scheme was a natural extension of the newspaper’s penchant for quality journalism and education.

“I hope that an increasing number of youngsters will be motivated to become good journalists that the country needs, especially since the scholarship is open to all New Zealanders,” he said.

Information about the Indian Newslink scholarship criteria at AUT is here.