The Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (DI) recently hosted a training workshop designed to bolster the practical skills of aspiring journalists. Organized by DI’s Journalism Programme and led by former BBC journalist Dima Hamdan, the workshop titled “Journalistic Sources and Interviewing” ran from Sunday and concluded on Monday.
Aimed primarily at first- and second-year students within the Journalism Programme, the workshop also opened a limited number of places to students from other academic disciplines. It focused on equipping participants with key competencies in developing news story ideas, cultivating and maintaining sources, and enhancing interviewing techniques.
The workshop emphasized hands-on learning, requiring students to prepare proposals for actual news stories while considering their relevance, significance, and feasibility in real-world contexts. Through various exercises and challenging discussion prompts, the sessions sought to simulate the complexities journalists encounter when working in the field.
Dr. Basem Tweissi, head of the Journalism Programme and professor of Journalism and Media Studies, highlighted the initiative as part of a broader effort to integrate field journalism and newsroom experience into the academic setting. He noted that this workshop is one element of a series of short training courses introduced this year. Other sessions in the series have addressed subjects including the use of artificial intelligence in journalism, solutions journalism, and improving journalistic writing skills.
Dima Hamdan underscored the value of the workshop’s practical orientation in preparing students for professional environments. She pointed out that the inclusion of difficult questions, often without straightforward answers, mirrors the ethical and operational challenges journalists face during reporting.
Throughout the workshop, students actively engaged with the trainer, posing questions and participating in detailed discussions regarding industry best practices related to sourcing and interviewing techniques. The program aims to broaden students’ exposure to professional journalism standards and foster their capabilities by blending theoretical instruction with applied training.
This initiative reflects DI’s commitment to enhancing the practical dimension of its Journalism Programme by bringing expert experience into classroom learning and better preparing students for careers in the media sector.