Nicola Sitch receives 2020 AFTRS & CRA Podcast Scholarship

Nicola Sitch will head to Sydney to study at AFTRS, after being named as the 2020 recipient of the Commercial Radio Australia podcast scholarship.

AFTRS and CRA named the Melbourne-based student, and she’ll receive $7,500 and enrolment in the AFTRS Graduate Diploma in Radio, covering all aspects of audio as well as podcasting.

“Nicola is a worthy recipient of the CRA Podcast Scholarship and we hope the experience acts as a spring-board to a creative and successful career in audio,” said CRA chief executive Joan Warner.

“Podcasting is a growing part of the industry and we’re pleased to support this initiative to help develop young talent and new Australian voices.”

As part of the scholarship, Sitch will get to complete a four-week internship at Southern Cross Australia’s PodcastOne network later in 2020.

“We’re looking forward to Nicola joining the PodcastOne Australia team in Melbourne for four weeks to put what she has learned into practice,” said SCA head of podcasting Grant Tothill.

“Nicola demonstrates a command of language well beyond her years,” added AFTRS head of radio Fyona Smith.

“Her entry was sophisticated, articulate, highly emotive and deeply personal. She has an advanced understanding of the role of narrative and design in audio storytelling, her work is certainly one to keep an eye out for.”

Sitch is keen to produce live radio, features and podcasts during her study, after she previously completed a Bachelor of Arts at Melbourne University in 2019.

“Receiving the CRA Scholarship has helped facilitate my move to Sydney to attend AFTRS full-time,” said Nicola Sitch.

“I am also thrilled by the opportunity to intern at PodcastOne Australia, a network I have always admired, and learn via osmosis from the team there. I cannot wait to implement my AFTRS learnings in a professional capacity.

“With a background in creative writing, I am enamoured with how audio formats can contribute a new dimension to the telling of Australian stories. It would be a privilege to contribute to this country’s great storytelling tradition,” she says.