The future is bright for a student from the University of Kent who has been awarded a journalism scholarship by an international news broadcaster.

Sky News has teamed up with the university’s Centre for Journalism, based at the Chatham Maritime campus, to offer one under-graduate a golden opportunity.

The annual scholarship programme, which was launched on Monday , is in memory of the late presenter Bob Friend.

The winner was named as 19-year-old Alan McGuinness, from Lewisham.

The scholarship will pay for Alan’s first-year tuition fees and he will spend four weeks on a work experience placement at Sky News.

Head of Sky News John Ryley said: “Bob Friend was a very special person in the hearts and minds of both the colleagues who worked with him at Sky News and the viewers who watched him all around the world. So when he died last October from cancer we decided to set up a scholarship in his memory. We decided to come to Kent because Bob was a man of Kent, he started his journalist career in Kent and we thought it was important that we remembered his roots.

“We looked at several places where we considered launching the scholarship and we decided the University of Kent was the ideal place. It has a fantastic teaching staff, it is very well led and the facilities are state of the art.

“The scholarship will stand Alan in fantastic stead once he has finished his course.

“The training he will receive both from the university and at Sky News will put them on a fantastic springboard to pursue a great career in broadcasting.”

Tim Luckhurst, head of the Centre for Journalism, which opened in October, said: “We are overjoyed Sky has chosen to link up with us but there is a very good reason for that.

"Sky is a multimedia company and we are a multimedia centre for journalism. We teach our students how to work in radio, television and online and in print from day one I think it was that multimedia ideal that brought the two of us together.

“It’s very hard to get work placements these days and to get a placement that lasts for four weeks which guarantees work on Sky television, radio and online is a tremendous opportunity.”

To be considered for the scholarship, Alan had to prepare a treatment of a story for Sky News across 18 hours of television, radio and online.

The short-listed candidates had to sit the Sky newsroom test and be interviewed by a panel of judges including representatives from Sky News, the Centre for Journalism and Bob Friend’s family.

Alan said: “I went into shock when I found out I had won. It took a while to sink in.

“I’m looking forward to the experience of being in a real, live news room and I think I will pick up so many tips and tricks it will make me a better journalist.”