By Olivia Wakefield

Three City journalism MA students have been awarded scholarships to study for eight weeks at the Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism in California this summer.

They will partake in the News 21 scheme, an initiative launched by journalism research organisation, Carnegie Knight. As part of the project the students from the Erasmus Mundus MA – who specialise in journalism within globalisation – will help redesign and launch the News 21 website as well as provide online news and features content.

The scheme, which takes journalism students from colleges across America, is designed to give young writers the opportunity to find innovative ways of sharing news stories online.

As the theme of the website this year is food, students will be mentored by the American food writer and journalist Michael Pollan.

Pollan has published six books, including bestseller The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and regularly contributes to The New York Post.

In the months leading up to the scheme, the three City students, Andrea Jezovit, Cassie Werber and Anders Heg Lammers, will get to know their fellow News 21 scholars via a weekly video conference on Skype.

Jezovit, who won a place on the scheme earlier this year, said: “I am really interested in innovation in online news so I hope to gain experience working in this area, as well as some good stuff for my portfolio.”

Berkeley University will be providing expenses; paying for the students’ travel budgets and visas.