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Shrijan Pandey

Journalist/Filmmaker 

Medill School of Journalism (BSJ '26)

Minor in Media and Politics from School of Foreign Service @Georgetown

Pulitzer Reporting Fellow 2024; Global Undergraduate Fellow 2024 @IAS

Bylines: Al Jazeera English, Africa Uncensored, Nepali Times, Transitions, The DailyQ, and more.

I am a senior at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Qatar, building expertise in journalism, media tools, digital design, film and audio, data science, research, and strategic communications. I also have a minor in Media and Politics (integrated with Northwestern) from the School of Foreign Service in Georgetown University. I have produced two documentaries, a few short films, podcasts, and articles on issues of migration, human rights, culture, music, the global south, and postcolonial theories. I am currently producing a one-person-documentary and an investigative journalism piece with the Pulitzer Center on The Illusion of Fair Trade. 

My film, Mitakpa, produced with The Institute for Advanced Study in the Global South at NUQ, was selected in Early Bird International Film Festival in Sofia, Bulgaria, EU Youth Film Festival in Qatar, and Janakpur International Film Festival in Nepal. 

My documentary, The Human Cost of Nepal's Yarsa Gold Rush, published in the Nepali Times, was showcased at the Mediterranean Film Festival in Rome, Italy, where I was part of the student jury. 

I also have a deep passion for music and the arts. I perform at music shows, events, open mics, and live performances. I have performed guitar and vocals at the FIFA World Cup 2022, Msherib Museum, and Backyard Battle 2024 and 2025 (band voted as crowd favorite). 

Featured Articles and Videos

Student awarded 2024 Pulitzer fellowship to report on female labor practices in Nepal

Northwestern Qatar student Shrijan Pandey was selected for the prestigious 2024 Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellowships, which support students undertaking international reporting projects focused on underreported global issues.
Pandey, a rising junior in the Journalism and Strategic Communication Program, will spend the summer in Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, producing a documentary and journalistic piece on how women working in diverse areas of the informal economy in Nepal are being exploited for...

#IAS_NUQ announces 2024 Global Undergraduate Fellows

Selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants, this year's fellows will examine various cultural, economic, and social issues across Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. The projects represent a rich tapestry of research interests and approaches, including changing news consumption patterns in rural Zambia, resistance to polio vaccination in tribal areas of Pakistan, community-led education amongst Doplo indigenous populations in Nepal, feminist economic practices in Pakistan, and cont...

Awards and Nominations

Film Festival Selections: Best Student Short Film: Kodaikanal International Film Festival, Tamilnadu (Mitakpa) Early Bird International Student Film Festival, Sofia, Bulgaria (Mitakpa) EU Youth Short Film Festival, Doha, Qatar (Mitakpa) Janakpur International Film Festival, Nepal (Mitakpa) Mediterranean Film Festival Student Jury (The Human Cost of Nepal's Yarsa Gold Rush) Best Action Short Film: Tbilisi Sunrise International Film Festival (2023) (Red Dot) Awards at Media and Research Awards (NUQ): Best Visual Journalistic Storytelling Award (The Human Cost of Nepal's Yarsa Gold Rush) Sound Category Nominee (Is AI the future of Music) Sound Category Nominee (Who is a migrant?) Journalistic Writing Nominee (Education in Limbo) Best Documentary Nominee (Mitakpa)

My Recent Work

Transitions •

Praguers, and Czech President, Double Down on Support for Ukraine - Transitions

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Al Jazeera English •

Is artificial intelligence the future of music? | The Take

Artificial intelligence is no longer a fantasy of the future, especially in the music world. Music professionals are already calling it the next tech revolution. But how will the industry and the artists adapt? 

In this episode:

- Ben Camp, Associate Professor of Songwriting, Berklee College of Music

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Shrijan Pandey, Sarí el-Khalili and our host Malika Bilal. Ashish Malhotra and Khaled Soltan fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Joe Plourde mixed this episode. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik, and Adam Abou-Gad is our engagement producer.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.
Africa Uncensored •

Education in limbo: Sudanese students suffer the impacts of civil war - Africa Uncensored

By Shrijan Raj Pandey
On April 15, 2023, Azza Abdul-Rehman, a 22-year-old medical student at the University of Medical Science and Technology in Khartoum, Sudan, was sleeping after preparing the whole night for her seventh-semester final examination when a phone call woke her up. The civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces had broken out in the capital, and she had to pack and evacuate within hours.
“When the war broke out, they destroyed the airport,” Abdul-Rehman s...
Nepali Times •

Love thy neighbours

When landslides struck a pilgrimage route to the Kedarnath shrine in the Indian Himalaya last week, 13 of the 19 people killed were Nepalis. All of them were migrant workers from Jumla in western Nepal.
Largely ignored in Nepal’s migration statistics are the estimated 4 million Nepalis who are studying, working and living in India. They are undocumented as Nepalis do not need visas or passports for India, just as Indians do not need those travel documents to travel to Nepal.
Nepal has an 1,808km...
Nepali Times •

Comings and goings in Mustang

While much of the discourse about  Mustang district concerns its people leaving for better opportunities overseas, what is less well known is that Nepalis from other parts of the country are moving in. Mustang's population is the second smallest among 77 districts, and it is falling due to out-migration. The resident population in the 2021 census was 14,452, with 5,882 people from other parts of Nepal.    One of them is Nima Lama, 24. He was born and raised in Kathmandu, and migrated to Mustang...
The Daily Q •

Beyond the headlines: Laila Al-Arian’s passion for powerful storytelling

Being truthful for the sake of justice is the need of the hour rather than being neutral, award-winning American broadcast journalist Laila Al-Arian said at a Community Talk held recently at Northwestern University in Qatar. 
Al-Arian’s career path, her documentary “The Killing of Shireen Abu Akleh,” and a discussion of journalists’ social responsibilities were the focus of the session, facilitated by NU-Q Professor Zeina Awad on Oct. 4. 
Growing up in a family with a deep interest in Palestinia...
Nepali Times •

Nepalis rock in the desert

When Nepalis in the Gulf make it into conversation, the last thing that comes up may be about a pair of head-banging rock artists. Nepalis are better known for being hardworking construction workers, long-distance lorry drivers, or serving as security guards in the Gulf nation. But in Qatar’s underground rock and metal scene, you will find Ameet Kunwar rocking the drums and Satish Thapa Magar grooving the crowd with his bass and vocals, defying the stereotype of a Nepali in the Arabian desert....
Nepali Times •

India’s faith in politics

As the most populous country in the world, India’s democracy is tangled up in politics, religion, and the economy ahead of next year’s elections.  India’s mainstream media has equated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with prosperity, and a majority of the public in north India seems to buy that line. Indeed, India’s GDP has grown by 6.3% over the past nine years since Modi took office, its annual economic growth rate is the envy of the world. Bu...
Nepali Times •

In Nepal, East meets West musically

A year ago in the hilltop town of Kirtipur overlooking Kathmandu, musicians started to experiment with a blend of Appalachian Bluegrass with the mewl of the sarangi from the Himalaya. Zoe Levitt, a Bluegrass mandolinist and songwriter from the US, and Prince Nepali, a fourth-generation sarangi player and educator, bonded well and established their Nepali-American folk fusion band, Manaslu Blue.  One year later, Manaslu Blue debuted in KatGrass: Bluegrass & Nepali Folk Fusion Concert to a diverse...
Nepali Times •

Playing to learn

Classrooms in Nepal still follow orthodox instruction methods where teachers spoon-feeds information, encourage memorisation for exams and discourage questioning. Students then become docile and are not motivated to think out of the box. A Kathmandu-based organisation is set to change that. Fun Play Learn works with schools in Kathmandu Valley to make learning especially science and maths fun and accessible through interactive sessions. The non-profit has 580 volunteers who visit 65 poorly-resou...
Nepali Times •

China opens Kailas-Mansarovar pilgrimage…

It has been three years since Hindus have been unable to make a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to the holiest places in their religion: Mt Kailas and Lake Mansarovar. This is because of the pandemic, and the fact that the sacred sites are in China. But China is gradually re-opening and has indicated that pilgrims will be allowed to visit Kailas-Mansarovar again — but at the moment only for Nepalis. Mt Kailas (6,638m) is a granite monolith and is regarded by Hindus across the Subcontinent as the a...
Nepali Times •

In the land of Gross National Happiness

As one of the last countries in the world to introduce television in 1998, and internet a year later, Bhutan has a whole new generation of young adults who have grown up with access to movies, football matches, and Facebook. The Buddhist-majority country holds its culture and traditions dear, and parents expect to pass these values down to their children who are having difficulty adjusting to the two worlds. The Next Guardian (2017) is a new documentary that explores this contrast between tradit...

A quick vlog about my experience of filming Mitakpa.

Reference

I am writing to highly recommend Shrijan Pandey for any future endeavors in the field of audio production and journalism. As a Senior Audio Producer at Al Jazeera English, I had the pleasure of mentoring Shrijan during his internship with our team.

Shrijan exhibited an exceptional level of dedication and creativity while working on an episode for 'The Take' podcast. His ability to explore and articulate complex topics, such as artificial intelligence in the music industry, showcased his keen journalistic instincts. Shrijan's passion for storytelling was evident in the meticulous research and thoughtful narrative structure he brought to the project.

Throughout his internship, Shrijan demonstrated strong communication skills and a collaborative spirit. He engaged with the team effectively, seeking feedback and incorporating suggestions to enhance the overall quality of the production. His proactive approach and attention to detail were invaluable assets to our team.

I am confident that Shrijan's talent, work ethic, and adaptability will make him a valuable asset in any professional setting. I wholeheartedly endorse him and believe he has the potential to excel in the field of audio production and journalism.

- Sari el-Khalili, Senior Audio Producer at Al Jazeera English. 

Relevant courses I have taken

IAS Undergraduate Global Fellowship: Under this year-long fellowship, I have been training extensively on documentary production and research to tell stories from the Global South.

JOUR_326-0 Documentary for Journalists: In this course, I have extensively learned about the different forms of documentaries and have received training to produce my own documentary.

JOUR_301-1: News Gathering and Assessment: In this course, I have learned about indepth storytelling, sourcing, and writing different beats of stories, which will be helpful for my long-form piece.

JOUR_201-0: Journalistic Storytelling: In this course, I have learned about different forms of journalism, including photojournalism, writing extensive and well-researched articles, and producing short and long form news packages.

JOUR_305-0: Podcasting: In this course, I learned how to experiment with scripts, learn different techniques of storytelling and interviews, and use different multimedia tools to tell impactful stories, which will be helpful for both my documentary and long-form piece.

JOUR_205-0: Research for Reporting: In this course, I have learned the fundamentals of research, including creating surveys and analyzing data, which will be important for my data collection.

MIT 190-0: Media Construction: In this course, we produced short films, news packages, video profiles, and photojournalism pieces. 


Other courses: Ways of Knowing (postcolonial theories), Media and Society, Principles of Economics, Journalism in the Digital World, Intro to Philosophy, Intro to Psychology, and numerous liberal arts and production courses and workshops.