Meet the Winners
Investintech - CAJ Data Journalism Scholarship
We’re proud to award the Investintech - CAJ Journalism Scholarship to students who show a potential in journalism work and a solid foundation of technical data skills that are required in the field.
Below you will find a complete list of annual winners who have won the scholarship. Find out more about these journalism students and the work they submitted. In addition, you can get a good look at how the Selection Jury evaluated the work, ultimately selecting it as a winning submission.
Winning Recipient for 2023 - 2024
Sonia is an undergraduate student at Western University, in London, Ontario, where she is studying neuroscience and is the features editor at the student newspaper, the Western Gazette. She is passionate about data journalism and stories focusing on science, health, and equity. Sonia has previously been recognized for her work with the 2023 John H. McDonald Data Journalism Award from the Canadian University Press (CUP), and was shortlisted for CUP’s 2024 Student Journalist of the Year award.
You can find her on X (Twitter) at: Sonia Persaud
Sonia has won the Investintech - CAJ Journalism Scholarship for his journalistic work and submissions:
Example of journalistic work
How the work was done
Read her work in full:
What 650 syllabi show about Western’s ChatGPT response | Features | westerngazette.ca
Selection Jury’s Feedback
Our selection jury has reviewed and evaluated each submission closely, looking at the student’s work from a journalistic point of view. Below is the jury’s explanation of why they chose the winning submission.
“Sonia’s story was an outstanding example of a data-driven story on a current and highly relevant topic. The submission showcased strong initiative, good story-telling skills, solid methodology, and included an impressive use of data and sentiment analysis. The data visualizations she created were clear and well-designed and supported the overall story. Sonia clearly has a bright future as a data journalist with the skills she demonstrated in her submission.”
Here is what the new recipient had to say about receiving the Investintech - CAJ Scholarship:
I am deeply honoured to receive this year's Investintech-CAJ Data Journalism scholarship. With misinformation proliferating in online spaces, the role of data journalism to seek out and interrogate data in service of the public good is more important than ever. I'm grateful to Investintech and the CAJ for their support of emerging journalists and their commitment to advancing the field of Canadian data journalism.
Past Winners
Tahmeed Shafiq is a writer and journalist interested in stories that are both complicated and deeply human. He reports on community resilience for Future of Good, and his work has appeared in The Globe and Mail and TVO. He is an undergraduate at the University of Toronto.
Follow him on Twitter @tryingtotype.
Tahmeed has won the Investintech - CAJ Journalism Scholarship for his journalistic work and submissions:
Example of journalistic work
How the work was done
Read his work in full:
At the Landlord and Tenant Board, Tenants Wait Twice as Long as Their Landlords
Selection Jury’s Feedback
Our selection jury has reviewed and evaluated each submission closely, looking at the student’s work from a journalistic point of view. Below is the jury’s explanation of why they chose the winning submission.
“The jury members found that Tahmeed's story was relevant, well told through multiple sources and points of view. Most importantly, his original data analysis acted as the backbone of his story. His methodology, story and data visualizations were a strong example of what to expect from a data driven story."
Here is what the new recipient had to say about receiving the Investintech - CAJ Scholarship:
I am honoured to receive the 2022-2023 Investintech-CAJ Journalism scholarship. In a world drowning in numbers, the journalistic task of presenting data accessibly and critically for the public good is more important than ever. The King's College Data School has provided essential training from the best data journalists for years, and I can't wait to join the ranks of its alumni
I am Aastha Sethi. I am a journalism student, pursuing master's at the University of British Columbia. Before I moved to Vancouver, B.C., I was working as a full-time entertainment news writer in India. In the span of six months, I researched, wrote, and published over 900 articles.
During the pandemic, I produced informative videos about environmental and political issues on my YouTube channel, Pestel. I followed online tutorials to learn Adobe CC applications like Illustrator, Photoshop, and After effects. Getting a hang of the software encouraged me to make digital illustrations. As a result, I now use my knack for sarcasm to develop satirical art on Indian politics.
As a journalist, I aspire to create impactful news stories, raise awareness of social ills, and mobilize the underserved. Here's a story I'm proud of:
Campuses proliferate with discarded masks but have no plans for recycling.
Aastha has won the Investintech - CAJ Journalism Scholarship for her journalistic work and submissions:
Example of journalistic work
How the work was done
Idea pitch for a story
Selection Jury’s Feedback
Our selection jury has reviewed and evaluated each submission closely, looking at the student’s work from a journalistic point of view. Below is the jury’s explanation of why they chose the winning submission.
“The approach towards putting the story together involved some data journalism work that is commonly done by data journalists in the industry, including extracting survey results from a raw dataset on an open data portal and interviewing primary sources. She pulled on relevant sources and focused on key areas to help put the story together. While more of the analyzed data could be presented throughout, the work behind the story demonstrates a strong potential for what can be expected when constructing a data journalism story. The non-data components of the story provided a good narrative and an insightful look at what impact current hybridized learning environments have had on young students during the pandemic."
Here is what the new recipient had to say about receiving the Investintech - CAJ Scholarship:
I feel honoured to have received this year’s Investintech – CAJ Journalism Scholarship. This award stands as a wonderful opportunity for aspiring journalists to experiment with data in ways that can create unparalleled stories. Moulding numbers into visually interactive ideas not only helps the audience relate to the stories, but also restores their faith in journalism. Data journalism eliminates subjectivity and adds credibility to the story, in a way like no other form of journalism can.
Brooklyn Connolly is a freelance journalist based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She’s currently a student at the University of King’s College, where she’s studying journalism. Her work has been published with CBC, the Guardian (US), and the Coast, among others. In the spring, Brooklyn will be interning with the Chronicle Herald in Halifax, N.S., both on the news desk and reporting for Saltwire’s community newspaper, the Halifax Wire. She hopes to further her investigative work in the future, with focus on health, education, and policy journalism. In her free time, Brooklyn enjoys to read, cook, and spend time with her cat, Luna. Have a story tip, book recommendation, or just want to say hi? You can reach her at brooklynconnolly@outlook.com.
Brooklyn has won the Investintech - CAJ Journalism Scholarship for her journalistic work and submissions.
Read her award winning work:
The Number Of Indigenous Women In Nova Scotia Jails Rose Last Year
Example of journalistic work
How the work was done
Idea pitch for a story
Selection Jury’s Feedback
Our selection jury has reviewed and evaluated each submission closely, looking at the student’s work from a journalistic point of view. Below is the jury’s explanation of why they chose the winning submission.
"The winning candidate’s submission shows how a newsworthy trend, especially at the federal level, can be brought out to the forefront by using data to uncover growing trends on societal issues in the indigenous community. It demonstrated the student’s ability to put together a solid story and does a great job with the non-data parts of the story (interviewing relevant sources, etc.). She pulled key numbers out of the data, which is what journalists are tasked with for each story they publish. The story shows real promise and shows the potential from this journalist on a topical issue."
Here is what the new recipient had to say about receiving the Investintech - CAJ Scholarship:
I am honoured to have been selected for the 2020-2021 Investintech - CAJ Journalism Scholarship. The scholarship is such a great way to support student journalists while encouraging them to continue thinking about the stories that data supports. Data has impact, holds those to account, and almost always has an effect on the public. It’s imperative that we continue to seek, question, and request for data as young reporters to best serve the public good in our future works.
I’m currently doing a Masters degree in international journalism at Laval University of Quebec city. Initially, I came from France to Quebec in 2016 to study creative writing, political science and journalism, then I found my true vocation: to become a journalist. Recently, I took a course that focused on the basics of data journalism that made me experiment with a different approach. I really enjoyed how this experience helped me to develop new skills to investigate churches in Quebec. I intend to keep learning how to create great stories.
Nora Legrand has won the Investintech - CAJ Journalism Scholarship for her journalistic work and submissions.
Read her award winning work:
French: Les églises converties du Québec: Un patrimoine laissé pour compte
English: Quebec's converted churches: A left behind heritage
Example of journalistic work
How the work was done
Idea pitch for a story
Selection Jury’s Feedback
Our selection jury has reviewed and evaluated each submission closely, looking at the student’s work from a journalistic point of view. Below is the jury’s explanation of why they chose the winning submission.
"The content submitted by this year’s winner demonstrates just how powerful a story can be when journalists pair data visualization with strong on-the-ground reporting and inspired writing. Each visualization helped answer a question the reader was likely to have about the subject matter (e.g. the survival and protection of Quebec’s abandoned churches) and complemented the interviews and hard facts. The author used the exclusive numbers she obtained through her reporting to shed new light on a societal issue seldom covered and raises important questions on what is left of that historical heritage in a unique, data-driven way."
Jury’s Feedback in FRENCH:
"Le reportage original présenté par la gagnante du prix cette année démontre à quel point une histoire peut être intéressante et porteuse lorsqu’on combine des visualizations de données avec des entrevues faites sur le terrain et une écriture de qualité. Chaque graphique présenté dans ce reportage répondait à une question précise que se posait le lecteur et allait main dans la main avec la structure du récit. Ici, les données exclusives obtenues par la journaliste servent à lever le voile sur un enjeu de société peu couvert, la disparition des églises au Québec, et à poser des questions importantes sur l'avenir du patrimoine collectif québécois."
Here is what the new recipient had to say about receiving the Investintech - CAJ Scholarship:
The Investintech - CAJ Journalism Scholarship is such a great way to support students in their studies and offer them a wonderful opportunity to carry out their project. It also pushes our generation to experiment with new ways of doing journalism such as dataviz. We live in a world where the future of our vocation can be unsure and being encouraged is the best way to feel like we can go out there and be creative and eventually succeed in what we want to do. The Investintech - CAJ Journalism is not only a reward: it’s a springboard for one’s career.
Example of journalistic work
How the work was done
Idea pitch for a story
Stay tuned to our main scholarship page for your chance to enter and win the 2024 - 2025
Investintech - CAJ Journalism Scholarship.