Two International Journalism Year 4 students - Angela Cheung and Crystal Tai - were named the winner and first runner-up, respectively, at the Asia Digital Journalism Student Awards 2018.

Angela's winning video is called "Swipe for the One - A Mobile Experience". She said news reports always describe Hong Kong as a difficult place for dating because of gender imbalance, high expectations and busy schedules and, therefore, she used mobile dating apps, such as Tinder, to match dating partners as a starting point for discussions on related issues.

Angela said identifying interviewees, researching data of Tinder and post-production of the motion graphics took up a lot of her time. Though she had put a lot of effort into thinking about the best way to illustrate the interviewees' feelings about dating apps, she didn't consider the project difficult at all. She thanked Ms Jenny Lam, senior lecturer of the Department of Journalism, for her guidance and said the award means a great deal to her as she embarks on a career in journalism.

The first runner-up video is called "Home, through the lens of alternative storytellers". Crystal remarked that having a proper home is a fundamental right of everyone, but is out of reach of most Hong Kong people. Rather than simply presenting the statistics and the astronomical housing prices, she interviewed five people from different walks of life: a man who was once homeless, a Pakistani construction worker, a newlywed, a photographer, and a container home designer to talk about their ideal home.

Crystal described winning the award as a "bonus" for her and a recognition of artistic journalism - the branch of journalism she is pursuing.

Crystal added she did not discover her passion for motion graphics and animation until Year 3 of her university studies. Since then, she has realized there is no limit to what she can create. Currently, she's working as a motion graphic designer and hopes her passion can open up opportunities for her to go overseas for learning and contribute to career advancement.

The Asia Digital Journalism Student Awards 2018 provides a platform for prospective journalists to put "new ways of story telling" into practice by utilizing digital technology to tell stories.

(HK Edition 09/10/2018 page18)