CIJ Lyra McKee Investigate Europe Fellow Announced
We are delighted to introduce Ava Scott-Nadal, a CIJ Lyra McKee 2026 bursary scheme graduate and the first ever CIJ Lyra McKee Investigate Europe fellow!
This year we teamed up with Investigate Europe, an an award-winning journalism cooperative. They invested the prize money they won in the 2025 IJ4EU Impact Award, into this paid fellowship, which will give the recipient a chance to work with their award-winning cross-border team.
After months of training with the CIJ and pitching her story idea to a panel of UK and Irish editors, Ava was selected by the Investigate Europe team as this year’s fellow.
“We are delighted to welcome Ava to Investigate Europe as a fellow. The selection process was highly competitive, and we were impressed by the outstanding quality of the candidates. We are excited to work with Ava, share our experience in collaborative investigative journalism, and learn from the skills and fresh perspectives she brings in local reporting, podcasting and multimedia storytelling.” said Mei-Ling McNamara, Editorial Director of Investigate Europe.
She will work alongside Investigate Europe’s reporters and editors on cross-border investigations, developing her skills in collaborative investigative journalism while bringing her experience in local reporting, podcasting and multimedia storytelling to the organisation.
Ava said: “It is such an incredible opportunity to be able to work on such impactful investigations so early in my career. I could not be more grateful to Investigate Europe for giving me the opportunity to prove myself and develop my skills in an area I am truly passionate about.”
Here at the CIJ we have long aspired to offer our graduates an opportunity to gain paid work experience following the bursary scheme. We are delighted to be able to do it this year!
Watch this space for Ava’s stories.
The Background
The #CIJLyraMcKee Bursary Scheme was established by the CIJ in memory of the young and courageous Northern Irish investigative journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot dead by dissident republicans in Derry in April 2019.
The aim of this five-month bursary scheme is to train and mentor people from under-represented backgrounds, who aspire to become journalists or who are at the very early stages of their journalism career.
Breaking into journalism can be very hard. While nearly 50% of the CIJ Lyra McKee bursary scheme graduates find full-time or part-time employment in journalism, an opportunity to work with a team of European journalists on real investigations and be paid for it is exciting and unique.
Investigate Europe is a cross-border team of reporters, editors and producers. They specialise in in-depth investigative journalism from a pan-European perspective. They focus on the untold stories, unchecked institutions and hidden structures shaping the continent today.
The selected Investigate Europe fellow will gain hands-on training, mentorship and cross-border investigative experience with their pan-European team, working across a variety of stories and formats. This fellowship seeks to support individuals from underrepresented and/or disadvantaged backgrounds who wish to develop their skills and hone their talent in a working investigative newsroom.