Umar Hassan is an Award-winning Journalist, who specialises in data, multimedia, political and sports journalism, as well as social media and data analytics.

A recent graduate from Birmingham City University in BA (Hons) – Media and Communication (Journalism), Umar has had bylines and numerous articles published for national and international online and print publications such as theCheckeredFlag.co.uk, The Scratch, NUBI Magazine, The Irish World, Birmingham Eastside and The Asian World as a freelancer.

His experience also extends to television, working with Sky UK and ITV. These experiences have helped to shape the professional journalist he is today whilst actively pursuing new storytelling methods to enhance his journalism such as visual and audio content.

One of his most recent projects has been Disability Sports Data where Umar is the Founder and Editor of the agency. It’s main purpose is to supply data visualisations for disability sport charities, teams and governing bodies. The agency is currently undergoing a rebrand at the moment.

Umar provides services to help media professionals understand about the importance of having data visualisation and analytics skills in this increasingly data-driven media industry in Tableau, R and SQL. You can check out his data visualisation portfolio on Tableau Public.

When it comes to awards, Umar is no stranger to being recognised for his hard work. He has won a number of different awards which include:

• Engaged Student of the Year Finalist – 2015 Birmingham City University Extra Mile Awards
• Media Person of the Year Winner  – 2016 Team BCU Awards
• Student Representative of the Year – Runner Up – 2017 Birmingham City University Extra Mile Awards
• Team of the Year Winner with School of Media Level Up Mentors – 2017 Birmingham City University Extra Mile Awards
• Vice Chancellor and Students’ Union President Award (Students) with School of Media Level Up Mentors – 2017 Birmingham City University Extra Mile Awards

Outside of journalism and data analytics, you will find Umar listening to Suede, Thin Lizzy, The Killers and Kylie Minogue. He’s a keen long-distance runner and fitness fanatic, as well as a motorsport and rugby union fanatic. You will find that he never stops talking about simulators, the Lickey Hills and dogs.