Coding the story

A team of students from Cardiff University have secured second place at a news innovation weekend hosted by The Times.

Comprising of students from the School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies and the School of Computer Science & Informatics, the team focused on explaining the issues around spousal visas.

Their investigation, called “Marry Right or Live Abroad”, looked at whether certain countries were being targeted for visa refusal - leaving families separated.

The students combined their journalistic, web development and design skills to create a project for Build the News, a two day event put on by The Times for student teams to conceptualise a new product or tool for the news industry. This year‘s event focused on storytelling.

Co-Director of MSc Computational and Data Journalism, Glyn Mottershead said, “It was fantastic to see the team taking a tough challenge like this to heart. Their journalistic and computing skills showed how a small project team can create and craft a strong product with a great story behind it in a short amount of time.

“Their project hit key elements of the new media structures - interactive elements, explainers and good story telling in an easy to use package.

“I’m delighted that they won second place and believe it is a testament to the skills they’ve developed over their courses so far."

Nearly 90 students were invited to attend the workshops in London’s News Building, home to journalistic talent from The Times, The Sunday Times and the UK staff of sister News Corporation title The Wall Street Journal.