Blog - FRONTIERS

FRONTIERS Info Day – 14 May 2026

The last FRONTIERS Info Day will be held on 14 May 2026 at 15:00 CEST. The online session will present the fourth and final call for applications for the FRONTIERS Science Journalism Residency Programme.

The Info Day is open to all interested in the programme, and prospective applicants are invited to ask their questions to the FRONTIERS team.

Agenda

Introduction to the FRONTIERS project and call 4 (15 min)
Q&A session (45 min)

Event details

Date: 14 May 2026

Time: 15:00 CEST
Duration: 1 hour
Platform: Zoom
Live-stream: FRONTIERS YouTube Channel (@FRONTIERS_media) – the recording will be available afterwards

Register here.

FRONTIERS co-hosts pre-conference at the European Communication Conference 2026

FRONTIERS, in collaboration with the Journalism Science Alliance project, is co-hosting a pre-conference session at the European Communication Conference 2026, on September 7, in Brno, Czech Republic.

Titled “Journalists-scientists relationship: existing models, present and future”, the roundtable session will feature grantees and collaborators from both projects. Participants will reflect on their experiences and share their insights on the present and future of the journalism-science relationship.

The pre-conference is free to attend, but spaces are limited. Registration is open until June 30, 2026.

FRONTIERS Info Day – 14 April 2026

The next FRONTIERS Info Day will be held on 14 April 2026 at 14:00 CEST. The online session will present the fourth and final call for applications for the FRONTIERS Science Journalism Residency Programme.

The Info Day is open to all interested in the programme, and prospective applicants are invited to ask their questions to the FRONTIERS team.

Agenda

Introduction to the FRONTIERS project and residency programme (15 min)
Overview of the Frequently Asked Questions (5 min)
Q&A session – an opportunity to ask the FRONTIERS team your questions (40 min)

Event details

Date: 14 April 2026

Time: 14:00 CEST
Duration: 1 hour
Platform: Zoom
Live-stream: FRONTIERS YouTube Channel (@FRONTIERS_media) – the recording will be available afterwards

Register here.

FRONTIERS opens fourth call for applications

The FRONTIERS Science Journalism in Residency Programme, funded by the European Research Council (ERC), is now accepting applications for its fourth and final round. Open to journalists across all career levels, the call will close on May 25, 2026, at 17:00 CEST.

Eligible applicants include science journalists at all levels of professional experience — early-career (up to 5 years), mid-career (6 to 9 years), and established (10 or more years) — who wish to carry out a residency of three to five months at a research institution in an EU Member State or a Horizon Europe associated country. Residency projects must engage with frontier science topics in close collaboration with researchers.

With up to ten fellowships available in this round, FRONTIERS continues its mission to support independent, in-depth science journalism at a time when the profession faces mounting pressures: precarious employment, shrinking newsrooms, and limited time and resources for thorough coverage. Results are expected to be announced in the summer of 2026, with residencies set to begin in the autumn.

Since its launch, the programme has supported 24 fellows across three rounds, all of whom have conducted residencies at European research institutions. As the final call of the FRONTIERS programme, this fourth round particularly welcomes proposals covering underrepresented or complex areas of science, beyond well-established themes, as well as applications involving host institutions from a broad geographical spread of countries.

Application process

Science journalists who have identified a host institution are invited to apply via the form on the FRONTIERS website. Applications must include a journalistic proposal focusing on ongoing frontier research projects and commitment letters from both the applicant and the host institution, and can include up to three recommendation letters.

Applicants can find more details on eligibility criteria and financial support for the FRONTIERS fellowships, tips on how to write a successful FRONTIERS project proposal, frequently asked questions, and more information on the FRONTIERS website.

Research institutions willing to host science journalists are encouraged to express their interest in being listed in the FRONTIERS database, which is available to prospective applicants on the project’s website.

Eight Early-Career Journalists Selected for the Third Round of FRONTIERS Residencies

The FRONTIERS Science Journalism Residency Programme has selected eight early-career journalists for its third round of residencies. Chosen from among 31 applicants, the new FRONTIERS fellows will delve into frontier research topics, from reproductive health, microbial life and the ocean carbon cycle to neuroscience, digital sovereignty and the physics of complexity.

For three to five months, the selected journalists will work alongside research teams across Europe, supported by a monthly grant of up to €4,000. The third cohort of FRONTIERS brings together journalists from Colombia, Denmark, India, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and the United States.

Since 2023, FRONTIERS has run two rounds, bringing together 16 journalists who completed residencies at research institutions in Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Round 3 FRONTIERS Fellows:

🇳🇱 Marit Bonne – hosted by Carlos Simon Foundation for Research in Women’s Health (Spain)
Project: The untold story of the uterus: what we are just beginning to understand

🇺🇸 Elise Cutts – hosted by Complexity Science Hub (Austria)
Project: The physics of complexity: Inside the search for new fundamental laws in complex systems science

🇨🇴 Juan David Escorcia – hosted by University of Bremen (Germany)
Project: Unravelling the ocean carbon cycle

🇮🇪 Rebecca Graham – hosted by RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Trinity College Dublin (Ireland)
Project: Digital psychiatry: How frontier neuroscience is reshaping our understanding of psychosis

🇮🇳 Siddhant Pusdekar – hosted by Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research – CIIMAR (Portugal)
Project: Microbes at the ends of a rapidly changing world

🇸🇮 Nika Žibrat – hosted by Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam (Netherlands)
Project: Beyond Bias: Challenging Assumptions in Medicine

🇺🇸 Wendy Wei – hosted by Peace Research Institute Oslo (Norway)
Project: Contested Digital Sovereignty: States, Corporations and Cross-Border Migration Control

🇩🇰 Nanna Kiil Johansen – hosted by the Norwegian Research Centre and the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research (Norway)
Project: Tracing the Arctic’s Past to Forecast Our Future

Note: Updated on January 12, 2026, to include Nanna Kiil Johansen among the selected fellows of the third FRONTIERS residency round.

“Why fund frontier research? The role of journalism in answering a crucial question for society”: Event at IIT on September 5

On September 5, 2025, the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) in Genoa will host an event exploring the relationship between frontier science and journalism. Organised in collaboration with FRONTIERS and the Association of ERC Grantees (AERG), the initiative will bring together researchers, policymakers, and science journalism organisations to discuss why funding frontier research matters and how journalism can help society address this question.

Speakers will include representatives from research and science journalism: Maria Leptin, ERC President; Giorgio Metta, IIT Scientific Director; Michele Mazzola, Head of the Office for the Internationalization of Research at MUR; Michele Guerrini, Italian Counsellor for Research and Innovation to the EU; Brando Benifei, Member of the European Parliament and STOA member; Agnieszka Wykowska, AERG board member and IIT researcher; Axel Cleeremans, AERG President and Professor at Université libre de Bruxelles; Agnès Vernet, President of the European Federation for Science Journalism; Edward Day, Press Officer at the Science Media Center in London; Terry O’Connor, Head of Special Projects at EMBO; and Marcin Monko, Head of Sector Media and Content at the ERC. Daniela Ovadia and Fabio Turone (CESJ and FRONTIERS) will present insights from the project’s first year.

Participation is open to all, subject to registration and until capacity is reached. The event will take place at IIT’s Auditorium in Genoa, Italy, starting at 10:00 CEST.

Visit this page for more information and the full programme.

FRONTIERS Science Journalism Residency Programme Receives 31 Applications in Third Call

The third call for applications to the FRONTIERS Science Journalism Residency Programme closed on May 6, 2025. This round was open exclusively to early-career science journalists seeking to spend three to five months in residency in research institutions across Europe.

The call received a total of 31 applications from journalists of 20 nationalities. Applicants submitted project proposals to be developed in research institutions across 14 countries.

Applications will now be reviewed by members of the FRONTIERS consortium and its Advisory Board. The results are expected to be announced in July 2025, and selected journalists will begin their residencies later this year.

Since its launch, the FRONTIERS Residency Programme has supported science journalists from a wide range of backgrounds and nationalities. To date, 16 journalists have completed or are currently undertaking residencies at European research institutions.

FRONTIERS Info Day – 31 March 2025

The next FRONTIERS Info Day will happen on 31 March 2025, at 14:00 CEST. This online session will provide an opportunity to learn more about the third call for applications for the FRONTIERS Science Journalism Residency Programme.

While this round of the FRONTIERS fellowships is exclusively for early-career science journalists, this Info Day is open to anyone interested in the programme.

Agenda

Introduction to the FRONTIERS project and residency programme (15 min)
Overview of key FAQs (5 min)
Q&A session – a chance to ask the FRONTIERS team any questions (40 min)

Event details

Date: 31 March 2025
Time: 14:00 CEST
Duration: 1 hour
Platform: Zoom
Live-stream: FRONTIERS YouTube Channel (@FRONTIERS_media) – The recording will be available afterwards.

Register here.

FRONTIERS Team to Gather in Portugal for 4th Project Consortium Meeting

On 19 March 2025, the FRONTIERS project partners will meet at the ITQB NOVA headquarters in Oeiras, Portugal, for the 4^th project Consortium Meeting.

This event will focus on reviewing the progress of the work packages, reflecting on the achievements to date, and planning the next steps for the project.

The meeting will bring together the consortium members – Center for Ethics in Science and Journalism, Enspire Science, Pompeu Fabra University and NOVA University Lisbon—and a representative of the ERC team to exchange knowledge and experiences about the FRONTIERS project.

FRONTIERS Info Day Session to Take Place on 10 March 2025

The next FRONTIERS Info Day will take place on 10 March 2025, at 14:00 CET. The online session will offer participants the opportunity to learn more about the third call for applications for the FRONTIERS Science Journalism Residency Programme.

While the third round of the FRONTIERS fellowships is dedicated to early-career science journalists only, this Info Day is open to everyone interested in the programme.

Agenda

Introduction to the FRONTIERS project and residency programme (15min)
Overview of the FAQs (5 min)
Q&A session, where participants can ask the FRONTIERS team questions. (40 min).

Event details

Date: 10 March 2025
Time: 14:00 CET
Duration: 1 hour
Platform: Zoom
Live-stream: FRONTIERS YouTube Channel (@FRONTIERS_media) – A recording will be available after the event.

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Round 3 FRONTIERS Fellows:

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