The Printing Charity is kindly once again sponsoring the SPANC Diversity Bursary, ensuring students from backgrounds under-represented in the industry can attend the biggest student journalism conference in the country.

While the SPA tries to run its National Conference as cheaply as possible and relies only on the support of its volunteers, we want to ensure everyone is able to attend.

With the return of our in-person conference in Sheffield, the Printing Charity has stepped in to provide funding to ensure we can send some students as delegates completely free.

Their tickets, travel and accommodation is all paid for under the fund. Applicants will hear next week whether they have been selected.

Neil Lovell, CEO of the Printing Charity, said: “We’re pleased to support the SPANC Bursary Fund, helping student journalists attend this year’s annual conference, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford to.

“The media conference provides a great opportunity for young aspiring journalists to meet others in the field, attend workshops and lectures to gain valuable insight about a career in the industry, and ultimately champion routes into employment. We hope it’s of value to those attending.”

Jem Collins, a Trustee of the SPA, said: “We first came up with the idea of the Diversity Bursary back in 2020, so it’s amazing that we’ve actually been able to make this a reality this year.

“Thanks to the generous support of the Printing Charity and our headline sponsors News Associates, we’ve been able to fund even more places, and we’re so excited to welcome delegates to Sheffield.”

You can buy tickets to #SPANC22 here.