Universities Move to Launch Investigative Journalism Courses for Female Students

Bangla Press Desk:  Three Bangladeshi universities are moving towards introducing investigative journalism courses for female students after completing a two-part co-design process aimed at developing implementation-ready curricula.

The participating institutions are State University of Bangladesh, Comilla University and Daffodil International University.The initiative is designed to strengthen investigative journalism education and create greater opportunities for women to pursue investigative reporting in Bangladesh by equipping female students with practical skills, confidence and critical thinking.

The first AGILE: Investigative Reporting for Female Students Workshop was held on 17–18 July, while the second workshop took place on 14–15 August at CCULB in Purbachal, Dhaka. The two workshops focused on developing, refining and finalising course outlines and lesson plans before the courses move into the implementation stage.

The workshops were organised by Rokeya Collective and CJEN Bangladesh, with support from Fojo Media Institute.

Participants in the second workshop included Abdur Razzak Sohel of Comilla University, Bikkromaditto of State University of Bangladesh, and Aftab Hossain and Meherabul Haque of Daffodil International University.

Focus on investigative journalism skills

The first workshop examined the need for investigative journalism education, course structure and content, as well as verification, gender, ethics and journalist safety.

Investigative journalist and Editor-in-Chief of Netra News Tasneem Khalil led a session on the fundamentals of investigative journalism, focusing on sourcing, information gathering and verification techniques.

Zyma Islam, Senior Reporter at The Daily Star, conducted a session titled “Navigating Gender, Power, Ethics and Safety in Investigative Journalism for Female Students”.

The session explored gender and power dynamics in investigative reporting, ethical challenges and personal and professional safety issues faced by female journalism students.

Building on the first workshop, the second focused on translating the curriculum framework into practical plans for implementation. Participants presented final course outlines for their respective universities, covering learning objectives, session structures, assessment methods, learning resources and institution-specific teaching approaches.

Panel members and fellow participants then provided feedback, with discussions focusing on implementation opportunities and challenges, institutional capacity, budgets, timelines and the long-term sustainability of the courses.

From story idea to publication

A special session on the practical process of investigative reporting was conducted by Parvez Reza, Input and Planning Editor at Channel One.

Titled “Writing an Investigative Story: From Conceptualization to Publication and Beyond”, the session covered the complete investigative reporting process, from developing story ideas and conducting research to field reporting, interviews, writing, use of digital tools and publication.

It also addressed how journalists can assess the impact of an investigative story after publication.

On the second day, participants presented lesson plans for two sessions from their proposed courses. The plans covered learning objectives, course content, classroom activities, teaching methods, student engagement and wellbeing, assessment and learning resources.

Jasmin Moli, Senior Reporter at bdnews24.com, joined the session as a guest panelist and provided feedback on the lesson plans and teaching approaches.

An online session with Dr Lulu Brenda Harris of the Center for Innovation and Technology (CITE), Zimbabwe, also focused on developing investigative story ideas, preparing and assessing pitches, and mentoring students throughout investigative reporting projects.

The workshop was facilitated by Professor Jude William Genilo, Chairman of CJEN Bangladesh, and Jesmin Papri, Project Coordinator of Rokeya Collective.

At the concluding session, participants presented their next steps for introducing the courses, including planned activities, budgets and implementation timelines.

The completion of the two-part co-design process marks a shift from curriculum development to implementation.

The initiative aims to help female journalism students identify, research and pursue meaningful investigative stories while developing the skills and confidence needed for professional reporting.

It also seeks to strengthen practical investigative journalism education in Bangladesh and expand women's participation in the field.

The workshop is part of AGILE, a global initiative supported by the European Union for 2025–2028. The consortium includes Internews Europe, Fojo Media Institute, CFI Développement Médias, Thomson Media and ARTICLE 19. Fojo Media Institute leads Workstream 5, which focuses on the future of journalism.