Red River College, the University of King’s College and the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) are teaming up to bring Canada’s best data journalism training to Winnipeg.

For more than a decade, King’s summer data schools have trained journalists from across the country in basic data journalism skills, including how to find, clean and analyze data, and how to use that data to find and tell compelling stories.

That same training will now be offered at RRC from May 5 to 10, right after CAJ19, the CAJ’s annual conference.

“For people on the Prairies and in Northwestern Ontario, Halifax can seem an awfully long way to go for training,” says Fred Vallance-Jones, lead instructor in the program and associate professor at King’s. “So we decided to bring exactly the same content to Winnipeg.”

King’s data schools have trained journalists from some of Canada’s biggest news outlets — including the Winnipeg Free Press, the CBC, the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail — as well as those from many smaller outlets.

Journalists who know how to work with data open up new opportunities in their careers, and can find and tell stories others miss.

“Journalists with data skills are prized in in newsrooms for being able to see stories in new ways and ferret out what’s really going on,” says RRC Journalism instructor James Turner, a graduate of King’s 2017 data school. “This training is a worthwhile investment for any journalist or newsroom wanting to offer their audiences bigger, more meaty stories.”

The Winnipeg data school will be held at The Roblin Centre at RRC’s Exchange District Campus. Those who sign up for both CAJ19 and the data school will get a 10 per cent discount.

The data school also offers special rates for students, freelancers, and those working at smaller outlets, with rates coming in at hundreds and even thousands of dollars below comparable private training.

Spaces are limited; sign up now or learn more about this year’s data school.