HITS: Call for “Journalist in Residence” in 2023

Are you an experienced science journalist? Would you like to delve into new areas of research and deepen your technical knowledge? Or learn more about machine learning and the methods of data-driven science in Germany? The “Journalist in Residence” program at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS) offers a stay of three to six months. Acceptance into the program is compensated with € 6,000 per month, the deadline for the 2023 applications is 18 September 2022.

The program

The “Journalist in Residence” program is geared towards freelance and staff science journalists with at least five years of experience and a focus on the natural sciences and technology. It is open to all media (print, online, radio, TV), one of its goals is to encourage dialogue between journalists and researchers, thus providing journalists with a better understanding of the way research works and how researchers think. Journalists are not expected to publish anything related to HITS in return. Instead, the program supports free and independent journalism.

A good command of spoken and written English is mandatory. More information on the program, application requirements and FAQ, are available at https://www.h-its.org/en/press/journalist-in-residence-program/.
Please use the application website: https://www.h-its.org/hits-job/call-for-journalist-in-residence-m-f-d-in-2023/

The Institute

HITS is a private, non-profit basic research institute where 120 scientists from 20 countries are currently working in 13 research groups. Research is conducted along three main topical threads: complex simulations across scales, data structuring and analysis, and enabling software and tools. The fields of research range from molecular biology and carbon chemistry to statistics and astrophysics. An essential characteristic of the Institute is interdisciplinarity, implemented among others in the “HITS Lab”, an internal program that fosters cross-group and cross-disciplinary projects at HITS.

One aim of the institute is to raise public awareness of the importance of computer-aided, data-driven research. The institute is located in Heidelberg, Germany, a city with a top  university and many other high-class research institutions.

Since 2012, there have been ten “Journalists in Residence”– from the U.S., Canada, Spain, Germany, Australia and India – many of them utilized their stay for long-term projects. For example, science journalist Volker Stollorz developed a concept for a German Science Media Center during his stay at HITS. In 2016, the “Science Media Center Germany” was established. The most recent Journalist in Residence, Carl Smith (Sydney, Australia), has just completed his stay in Heidelberg. His resume:  “The HITS Journalist in Residence program is a boon for independent science journalism and one that I would love to see emulated elsewhere in the world.”

Hashtag on Twitter: #HITSJIR2023

Media contact:
Dr. Peter Saueressig
Head of Communications
HITS, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies
+49 (0)6221 533 245
peter.saueressig@h-its.org