Science Journalism Archives

Second Round of FRONTIERS Science Journalism Residency Programme Awards Grants to Ten Journalists

The FRONTIERS Science Journalism in Residency Programme has selected ten science journalists to participate in its second round of residencies. The chosen candidates — Marta Abbà, Rina Caballar, Danielle Fleming, Will Grimond, Giorgia Guglielmi, Suvi Jaakkola, Tim Kalvelage, Thomas Reintjes, Senne Starckx, and Meera Subramanian— will spend three to five months in residency at European research institutions, working on their journalistic projects.

The residencies, hosted by institutions in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom, offer a unique opportunity for fellows to explore frontier research. The journalists’ projects will delve into various issues shaping society with topics spanning climate change, technology, life sciences, health and medical journalism, data sharing, and space exploration.

Representing a mix of early-career, mid-career, and established professionals, the selected fellows originate from Belgium, Finland, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Each fellow will receive a grant of up to €6,000 per month to support their work.

Following the success of the first call, which selected seven science journalists in May 2024, the FRONTIERS programme now enters its second round. The first cohort of FRONTIERS fellows is currently undergoing their residencies, with projects exploring a broad array of cutting-edge science topics.

The second call for the FRONTIERS Residency Programme, which closed in September 2024, received 47 applications. The FRONTIERS project congratulates all applicants for their submissions and invites new and unsuccessful applicants to apply for the third call of the programme in 2025.

FRONTIERS Fellows Gather for In-Person Training in Barcelona

On October 9 and 10, 2024, the FRONTIERS Residency Program brought its fellows together for their first in-person training workshop in Barcelona. Over two days, the FRONTIERS fellows engaged in discussions on key issues for science journalism, including ethical practices, measuring the impact of science stories, the evolving landscape of scientific publications, and the role of artificial intelligence in journalism.

The event allowed fellows to share their experiences, explore best practices in science communication, and discuss how to maintain public trust in scientific reporting. The workshop emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and adapting to the challenges facing modern science journalism.

The next step for the fellows is an online session on October 30, where they will discuss interviewing techniques for frontier science researchers and work towards a collaborative definition of frontier science.

FRONTIERS Fellows (from left to right): Javier Barbuzano, Jacopo Pasotti, Samuel Schlaefli, Zuzana Vitková, Vedrana Simičević, Aisling Irwin, and Ruairi Mackenzie.

FRONTIERS Science Journalism in Residency Program Receives 47 New Applicants

The second call for applications for the FRONTIERS Residency Program closed on September 25, 2024, and received 47 applications from science journalists worldwide.

This round of the FRONTIERS Residency Program received submissions from journalists from 25 different nationalities, representing a broad range of career levels: 9 early-career journalists, 24 mid-career professionals, and 14 experienced journalists, with more than 10 years of experience. Applicants have submitted journalistic projects to be developed at scientific institutions, with 42 potential host institutions in 10 different countries, committing to offer opportunities for science journalists to report on various research areas in the Life, Physical, and Social Sciences.

Applications are currently under review by a committee of experts from the FRONTIERS consortium and its Advisory Board, with results expected to be announced by November 2024. Selected applicants will start their science journalism residences by Spring 2025. So far, 7 science journalists have become FRONTIERS Fellows.

FRONTIERS welcomes applications from science journalists of any nationality wishing to develop their projects at research institutions across EU Member States and countries associated with the EU’s Horizon Europe Program. The third call for FRONTIERS Residency applications is scheduled to open in early Spring 2025.

The FRONTIERS Info Day will be held on 8 July 2024

The FRONTIERS Info Day (Round 2) will take place on 8 July 2024, at 15:00 (CEST).

During this event, the FRONTIERS team will present the FRONTIERS project and the Residency Program for Science Journalists, followed by a Q&A session. Marcin Monko, Head of Media and Content at the European Research Council (ERC), will also be present to discuss the ERC’s perspective on the FRONTIERS Science Journalism Initiative.

Technical Details

Platform: Zoom
How to register: write to info@frontiersmedia.eu.
Live-stream: FRONTIERS YouTube Channel (/@FRONTIERS_media). The recording will be available on the FRONTIERS’ channel after the end of the event.

FRONTIERS journalism training premieres in Barcelona

On June 17, 18 and 26, the University of Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona hosted a training session for early-career science journalists. This initial session served as a pilot run to test and enhance materials for the FRONTIERS Training Programme, which will be offered to all FRONTIERS’ Fellows.

Training is an important part of the FRONTIERS project and there are training sessions planned for each cohort of FRONTIERS Fellows. Each training round includes a face-to-face session, to be held in Barcelona or Lisbon, and an online session. Both sessions will be excellent opportunities for the professional development of journalists in residency and for creating a network of motivated science journalists, who can share their experiences and mutually support each other during the residency period and beyond.

The pilot training used a case-based learning approach, to discuss topics such as “Gender Issues in Science Journalism” and “Preprints and Scientific Evidence”, involving participants in the analysis, discussion, and resolution of real-life problems. Ten early-career science journalists attended the training, including a follow-up online session, and evaluated their whole experience, leaving invaluable comments to the FRONTIERS team.

“The course offered two particularly valuable aspects,” says Marc Masip, a journalist on the verification platform Verifica’T and collaborator in the newspaper La Vanguardia. “Firstly, the various Artificial Intelligence tools we discovered, discussed, and worked on during the sessions are extremely useful for my work. Secondly, the diverse community of participants from different backgrounds greatly enriched our discussions, adding depth and a variety of perspectives.”

“I’m going to apply some of the tools we’ve discussed” ensures Júlia Santacreu, Journalist at the UMH Sapiens magazine. “Additionally, I plan to incorporate some of the perspectives and reflections we explored, such as those on gender equality and ways to promote women in science actively.”

Results and lessons learned during this initial event will now be used to build the upcoming training session, scheduled for Autumn, in a comprehensive program directed to the mid-career and established science journalists selected in the first round of applications.

FRONTIERS opens new call for science journalism in residency programme

Today, the FRONTIERS Science Journalism Initiative opens the second call for applications for its science journalism in residency programme. The application period will remain open until the 25th of September 2024, at 17:00 CEST.

Funded by the European Research Council (ERC), this initiative offers science journalists the opportunity to develop independent journalism while spending three to five months in a host research institution, located in an EU Member State or a country associated with the EU’s Horizon Europe Programme. The residency proposals are expected to focus on ongoing frontier research projects and involve scientists working at the forefront of knowledge, in any scientific domain.

Science journalists who have already identified a host institution are invited to apply via the FRONTIERS website. Applications must include the journalistic proposal for the residency period and commitment letters from both the applicant and the host institution. Research institutions willing to host science journalists are also encouraged to express their interest in being listed in the database of research projects and institutions that is available to prospective applicants on the project’s website.

The programme is open to journalists from around the globe, working with diverse media formats and at various stages of their careers. Applicants who have applied to the first round and were not selected for residency are invited to reapply.

In the first application round, seven journalists from Spain, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, and Croatia were selected. Their FRONTIERS Residencies – hosted by institutions in Spain, Germany, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and Croatia – will take place in the coming months.

FRONTIERS Residency program awards grants to seven European journalists

Javier Pérez Barbuzano, Aisling Irwin, Ruairi Mackenzie, Jacopo Pasotti, Samuel Schlaefli, Vedrana Simičević, and Zuzana Vitková are the chosen candidates for the inaugural round of the FRONTIERS Residency Program. This ERC-supported initiative will finance journalists to spend 3 to 5 months at a European research institution.

Originating from Spain, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, and Croatia, the selected journalists will develop their journalistic projects, during their residencies in scientific institutions. The initiative will award a monthly grant of up to 6,000€ to each of the selected fellows, who are expected to be fully dedicated to their projects.

The first residencies will be hosted by European institutions in Spain, Germany, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and Croatia. Each residency presents a unique opportunity for the FRONTIERS Fellows to explore frontier research across various scientific disciplines. The awarded journalistic proposals include coverage of cutting-edge topics such as the impact of climate change on glaciers, agroecology, gene editing, rare diseases, technological innovation in timber materials, immunology and conspiracy theories surrounding climate change.

The first call of the FRONTIERS Residency Program closed on 5 March 2024. The selected journalists were chosen from a pool of 33 applicants, representing 20 nationalities from 5 continents. The FRONTIERS project congratulates all applicants for their submissions and invites new and unsuccessful applicants to apply for the second call of the program, which will open in June 2024.

First call of the FRONTIERS Residency Program receives 33 applications from science journalists

The first call for applications for the FRONTIERS journalist residencies closed on 5 March 2024 and attracted 33 submissions. The competition was open to any science journalist interested in an immersive residency of three to five months at a research institution in the EU or associated country. Applications will now be evaluated by a committee composed of members of the FRONTIERS consortium and its Advisory Board.

In this first round of submissions, journalists from five continents applied for residencies at host institutions in thirteen different countries. There were applications from experienced journalists and junior ones with journalistic projects in all scientific domains.

The results of the selection process are scheduled to be announced in May 2024. New applicants and unsuccessful applicants will be invited to apply in the second call, which is set to open later this year.

FRONTIERS, the ERC-funded science journalism initiative

In early 2023, the European Research Council (ERC) selected the FRONTIERS project for its Science Journalism Initiative. The project provides science journalists with the opportunity to cover frontier science topics from within research institutions, ensuring total journalistic independence. FRONTIERS aims to tackle some of the challenges of science journalism, including the deteriorating employment conditions and resources available for science journalists.

The FRONTIERS project is run by a consortium of organisations that includes the Centre for Ethics in Science and Journalism (Italy), the NOVA University of Lisbon (Portugal), the Science, Communication and Society Studies Centre of the Pompeu Fabra University (Spain), and Enspire Science (Israel), which coordinates the project.

ERC’s initial testing inspired Science Journalism Initiative

Before launching the Science Journalism Initiative (SJI), the European Research Council (ERC) tested the idea for a residency program for science journalists in European research host institutions, through a short pilot experiment in three different countries. The results not only guided the ERC but may also serve as an inspiration for other science journalists, researchers, and host institutions to embark on the adventure promoted by FRONTIERS.

Three research institutions, in the Czech Republic, Italy and Spain, were selected to host science journalists for one month in late 2022. The Science Journalism Initiative’s initial testing contributed to enhancing scientists’ awareness of the importance of interacting with journalists.

According to the ERC, the test run confirmed that there is a need for this type of programme. “The employment conditions of journalists, including science journalists, are worsening, there are fewer resources and time for training and development, limited opportunities for journalists to establish a network among themselves, and little money for in-depth study and research”.

“For a journalist, it’s exciting to learn about cutting-edge research areas”, said one of the participants in the test run. “Being able to spend extended periods with a research group, seeing firsthand their experiments and equipment, was the most valuable part of this experience. This immersive aspect really brought their work to life.”

For the researchers, it was also a very valuable experiment: “I liked having the opportunity to talk to the journalist. She was immediately inside my research, showing interest, asking the right questions, and inspiring me with my answers”, said one of the host researchers.

The FRONTIERS project will build on the recommendations of the pilot experiment to set up its science journalism residency program, which is expected to open up to 40 fellowships in the next four years The residencies will last for up to five months, thus allowing for more time for journalists to explore scientific topics in a broad range of host institutions engaged in frontier science in any scientific domain.

Thanks to the “test run” project of the ERC and the choice of the head of communication of the research institution, I have had the opportunity to participate in a very interesting and enriching professional experience: for a month, visiting several leading research centers to see first‐hand the scientific work they carry out, as well as the activity of the respective departments of Communication.
Science Journalist of the ERC SJI test run

Our scientists were pleased to hear that we are piloting a science journalism initiative for such a prestigious brand as ERC and they have realised that visibility of research results must be important if ERC is planning to roll out such type of initiative. Therefore, we can say that our scientists have become more open to sharing their research results
Press officer at a host institution

The FRONTIERS Info Day will be held on 15 Feb 2024

The FRONTIERS Info Day will be held on 15 February 2024, at 16h00 (CET).

The FRONTIERS team will present the project and the Residency Program for Science Journalists and answer questions from the audience. Béatrice Thiry, Communication Officer at the European Research Council (ERC) will also join the FRONTIERS Info Day to present ERC’s vision for a Science Journalism Initiative.

Technical Details

FRONTIERS, the ERC-funded science journalism initiative

Technical Details

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