RTS names recipients of 2022 undergraduate bursaries

The prestigious RTS bursary schemes support young people from lower income backgrounds who are interested in working in the television industry, from production or related subjects through to technology roles.

For 2022, a total of 45 bursaries have been awarded across TV Production and Journalism and the newly created Digital Innovation Bursary. The new Digital Innovation Bursary is in place to support students specifically in the digital space who are pushing boundaries and innovating, and for 2022 eight students have received the inaugural bursary.

The total number of bursaries being awarded this year is a record high since 2014, owing to the generous support from across the industry for the schemes. Two recipients this year will receive support from the Steve Hewlett Memorial Fund, and STV is continuing its significant support, providing 10 of the bursaries for 2022.

New for this year is the Beryl Vertue Scholarship supported by Hartswood Films, designed to commemorate Beryl Vertue’s career in the media industry by supporting one talented and committed television production scholar per year for the duration of their studies. The Scholar will be chosen each year by Beryl’s daughters, Sue and Debbie Vertue, from among the top scoring applicants for the RTS Television Production and Journalism Bursary.

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The successful recipients attend 29 universities and institutions across the UK and will receive £1,000 per year to assist with their expenses and living costs along with a free RTS membership while studying, with an additional year after they graduate. In their final year of study, the RTS will also aim to set up mentoring opportunities matching each awardee with one of their industry members. The Steve Hewlett scholarship recipient will receive £2,000 per annum from the Steve Hewlett Memorial Fund supported by the RTS and The Media Society, alongside the Beryl Vertue scholar who will also receive £2,000 per annum.

The Television Production and Broadcast Journalism bursary awardees are: Ethan Ward, Samira Chowdhury, Rachael Bowie, Nicholas Baynton, Kiera Miller, Benjamin Killackey, Saffron Cave, Grace Hynds, Andrew Dean, Glodi Kuba-Kuba, Danielle Russell, George Wincott, Kiah-Jay Stevens, Elizabeth Adejumo, Muhammad Ali, Keighra Ashton, Philip McKeever, Niamh Quirke, Bethany Barr, Nathan Edgar, Callum Vidgen, Nhu Huynh, Sebastian Ackland and Poppy Marr.

Those students receiving a Digital Innovation scholarship are: Tameem Hussain, Ireneusz Minkiewicz, Mollie Stratton, Zayed Ahmed, Saqib Ahmed, Cassandra Edwards, Haseena Iqbal and David Anley.

Continuing its generous support, ten of this year’s bursaries have been funded by STV, including: Samantha MacAlister, Conor Sullivan, Natalino De Martino, Sophie Reid, Ione Gildroy, Margareta Cilinska, Andrew McFarlane, Peter McGachy, Abbie Freeman and Andrew Moffat Tierney.

This year, the Steve Hewlett Memorial Fund scholars are: Catriona Walsh and Liubov Sliusareva.

The recipient of this year’s Beryl Vertue scholarship is: Saleem Miah.

Theresa Wise, RTS CEO, said: “Year upon year the RTS scholars continue to create fantastic work and push our industry forward through their creativity and innovation. This year’s bursary recipients are no different, and we’re delighted to recognise their achievements and also provide them with the industry support required to help them on their journey to a career in the television space.”

Sue and Debbie Vertue of Hartswood Films, said: “We are honoured to be continuing our mother’s legacy and passion for the television industry by supporting the RTS bursary scheme. Beryl was a huge advocate for supporting the next generation of television production talent, so it’s a fitting tribute to be awarding a bursary in her name. The recipients of this year’s bursaries have shown that the television industry is set for a very bright future, and it’s a privilege to help provide opportunities for them to reach their full potential.”

To date, the RTS has invested over £1million in the scheme, awarding nearly 300 bursaries in total and supporting scholars throughout their education. Donations to support the scheme from All3media, Steve Hewlett Fund, Hartswood Films, STV, ITV Daytime, and YouView have continued to enable the scheme to grow and flourish, with over 80% of the graduates from the first five years of intake working in Television or related industries.

Full List of Television Production and Broadcast Journalism Bursary Scholars:

Steve Hewlett Scholarship:

Catriona Walsh, Broadcast Production, Queen’s University Belfast

Liubov Sliusareva, Film, London College of Communication

RTS Television Production and Journalism Scholars:

Ethan Ward, Film Studies, The University of Lancaster

Saleem Miah, Filmmaking, Manchester Metropolitan University

Samira Chowdhury, Politics and International Relations, University College London

Rachael Bowie, Music and Sound Design Technology, University of Hertfordshire

Nicholas Baynton, Media and Creative Industries, University of Warwick

Kiera Miller, Media, Edge Hill University

Benjamin Killackey, Television Production, Solent University

Saffron Cave, Television Production, Bournemouth University

Grace Hynds, Broadcast Production, Queen’s University Belfast

Andrew Dean, Filmmaking, BIMM Institute

Glodi Kuba-Kuba, Film Studies, The University of Salford

Danielle Russell, Film and Literature, The University of Warwick

George Wincott, Sports Journalism, The University of Central Lancashire

Kiah-Jay Stevens, Television Production, Bournemouth University

Elizabeth Adejumo, Digital Media and Communications, The University of Westminster

Muhammad Ali, Media Communications, University of the Arts London

Keighra Ashton, Filmmaking, BIMM Institute

Philip McKeever, Filmmaking, BIMM Institute

Niamh Quirke, Filmmaking, BIMM Institute

Bethany Barr, Film Production, The Arts University Bournemouth

Nathan Edgar, Journalism, Ulster University

Callum Vidgen, Television Production, Bournemouth University

Nhu Huynh, Comparative Literature and Film Studies, Queen Mary University

Sebastian Ackland, Film and Television Practice, London South Bank University

Poppy Marr, Film and Television, University of the Arts London

Digital Innovation Scholars:

Tameem Hussain, Computer Animation Art and Design, Bournemouth University

Ireneusz Minkiewicz, 3D Computer Generated Imagery - Architectural Visualisation, Bournemouth and Poole College

Mollie Stratton, Audio and Music Technology, Access Norwich

Zayed Ahmed, Systems Engineering, The University of Warwick

Saqib Ahmed, Systems Engineering, The University of Warwick

Cassandra Edwards, Computer Science, The University of Leicester

Haseena Iqbal, Cybersecurity, Aston University

David Anley, Computer Science, Cardiff University

STV Scholars:

Samantha MacAlister, Broadcast Production Television & Radio, The University of the West of Scotland

Conor Sullivan, Television, City of Glasgow College

Natalino De Martino, Television, City of Glasgow College

Sophie Reid, Television, Edinburgh Napier University

lone Gildroy, French and Italian, The University of Edinburgh

Margareta Cilinska, Filmmaking, The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Andrew McFarlane, Broadcast Production Television & Radio, The University of the West of Scotland

Peter McGachy, Television, City of Glasgow College

Abbie Freeman, Film, Media and Journalism Studies, The University of Stirling

Andrew Moffat Tierney, HND Creative Industries Television, City of Glasgow College

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