The International Academy of Journalism, or Intajour, founded by Bertelsmann last year has officially opened to applications, the company announced in a press release.

The ten-month "Journalism in the Digital World" course, aimed at journalists from countries with limited or threatened press freedom, is inviting journalists from around the world to apply. Twelve students will be trained in the subjects of "Investigative research on the internet," "Journalistic forms of presentation on the internet," "Technical production of web content," "Media ethics" and "Economic fundamentals of online journalism." The program begins on August 29, 2011 and consists of attendance phases in Hamburg, Cologne and Berlin as well as two intensive e-learning phases, the press release specified. The deadline is June 15.

"Digitization offers journalists and editors a variety of new ways of working professionally - especially in countries where press freedom is not guaranteed to the same extent as here," said Intajour director Werner Eggert. "We want to give these journalists the tools they need for the digital age. I look forward to interesting applications from all over the world. There is already great interest in our work, because in Intajour we have created an innovative tool for systematically coaching and training journalists in the digital media world."

Bertelsmann's two journalism schools, the Henri Nannen School in Hamburg and the RTL School of Journalism in Cologne, are to work closely with the company on the initiative. The Academy is headquartered in Hamburg.

Bertelsmann founded the journalism academy in September last year, to "advocate the spread of the ideals of press freedom and promote expertise and networking among journalistic talent worldwide," the company reported at the time. President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso spoke at the foundation ceremony, which also marked the media company's 175th year.

Source: Bertelsmann press release