Sports Journalism graduate Chanda Njovu shares his experience

Chanda landed the job after finishing the course and one of his first tasks was to head to Russia to report on a tennis tournament.

While on the course, Chanda secured work placements at Sky Sports News, BBC North West, ITV and Bolton Wanderers, and his job at AE Live involves working for broadcasters such as Sky, BBC, and BT Sport.

With a passion for sports and media, Chanda chose to study BA (Hons) Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire after attending an open day in 2016 and seeing the facilities. He was also impressed with the enthusiasm of the lecturers and by the work experience opportunities that would be available to him.

As part of his degree, Chanda went on a 10-day trip to Guangzhou in China, allowing him to learn how the media industry works in a different part of the world. Chanda worked with Chinese students and got to see how they learn journalism compared to those in the UK. Reflecting on the trip, he said: “The 10 days in China were amazing and this course gave me the opportunity to see a different part of the world.”

Chanda loved his time at University and particularly enjoyed the ‘news days’ that he did as part of his degree in his second and third years. “I met some incredible people and produced excellent stories,” he said. “The news days helped me decide which part of the media industry I wanted to work in and that was television.”

At the start of second year, Chanda started to struggle with his mental health and took a break. Chanda felt supported at UCLan and said his course leaders were “understanding and told him to take as much time as he needed”. Talking about his experience, he said: “Once I was back fit and ready, I went on to achieve my first-class degree and I didn't look back.”

Chanda graduated in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and initially found it difficult to find a job, so he worked as an Uber Eats driver for a short time before securing a role at UCLan as an Intern in the Social Media Team. Two weeks into the internship, Chanda received a job offer from AE Live where he now works as a Graphics Operator. It was a job he secured via his contacts from the Sports Journalism course.

In his role at AE Live, Chanda produces live sports graphics for a range of sports for major broadcasters such as Sky Sports, BT Sport, BBC, and ITV.

Reflecting on his experience, Chanda said: “My degree has helped me get into the media industry, it has helped me develop a range of different skills that I am using right now, and I believe I will be using in years to come. The course has helped me to meet contacts that I will be in touch with future years to come Who will help me find work in case I need it again in the future.”

When asked about advice he’d give to students or graduates wanting to do something similar, Chanda said: “Get as much work experience as possible and don't concentrate on just doing one sport, learn lots of different sports during your time at University. When I was at UCLan, I challenged myself to do stories for sports such as cricket, netball, and women's hockey. These were sports that I'd never learned before or knew anything about. 

He added: “Your course leaders are your best friends and they're there to help you if you're struggling. They will guide you in the right direction and if you need any advice, they'll be there to help you out.

“They've got industry contacts who can offer you work placement opportunities. When you're offered a work placement, accept it, whatever it is. You might end up liking the job that's there or it could lead to better opportunities once you graduate.”