Three University of Melbourne Master of Journalism students have been named among six finalists for the 2019 Melbourne Press Club Student Journalist of the Year, with the winner to be announced at the Quill Awards Dinner on Friday 6 March.

Nazli Bahmani was recognised for her story, published in The Citizen, on the asylum seekers waiting in limbo at the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation centre, and the challenges involved for anyone who wants to visit them.

Ciaran O’Mahony was shortlisted for his piece “The Scottish explorer who became the butcher of Gippsland”, which was part of Guardian Australia’s award-winning “The Killing Times” project on Indigenous massacres. Ciaran worked on the story as part of his internship program.

Liam Petterson was shortlisted for a story on IBM’s plans to hire people with autism in a variety of IT positions, written during an internship at the ABC.

See the full list of nominees here.