Research Ireland, the new competitive research and innovation funding agency in Ireland, is delighted to sponsor the Journalism Relating to Science and Technology Award category at the 2025 National Student Media Awards.
In an era of disinformation and polarised content, when it comes to reporting on subjects such as climate change, artificial intelligence or vaccinations, how we communicate with the public and share research findings is hugely important.
Writing or broadcasting about topics linked to science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) can have a significant societal impact and is far more than just the latest Apple product review.
Research Ireland is focused on promoting the research that the taxpayer in Ireland helps to fund. It is our aim to inform the world of just how much meaningful and innovative research is conducted in Ireland, and we need a diversity of voices to help tell those stories.
There is a whole world of stories on groundbreaking research to uncover. For example, you could write an article about:
- Research that aims to address issues such as food and water scarcity
- Research that aims to protect the Irish coastline from climate change and erosion
- Research into the ethical and transparent use of AI
- Research into health and pharmaceuticals
- Research into the application of digital technologies
- Research into the development of sustainable agricultural practices
These are just a handful of examples. The opportunities to write about impactful research are practically endless, and we need talented writers, broadcasters and presenters like you to tell the stories behind the research. Behind every project, there is a team of researchers, with their own motivations, passions and backgrounds, waiting for their stories to be told.
The Blue Horizons: The Secret Sounds of the Sea video is a great example of how to bring research to life with powerful storytelling. This short film focuses on research conducted by the iCRAG Research Ireland Centre in Applied Geosciences (based at UCD) and explores how sound connects us with the ocean. Through the use of evocative imagery and audio, the video depicts the researcher’s personal connection to their work and explores what it is that drives them. It also demonstrates the opportunity we have to creatively communicate the impacts of science and technology, inform people and positively influence behaviour.
Through STEM journalism, you can explore topics that relate to your own interests, for example, climate change, food, or even video gaming. If you’re interested in video games, as one example, perhaps you could write about the research conducted at LERO, the Research Ireland Centre for Software, which found that playing video games could improve attention and memory.
You could interview the researchers to find out what drove them to explore this topic and what they feel the implications of this research are. Whatever your passion or interest is, there is a story suited to you.
Research Ireland supports discovery and the generation of new knowledge to help solve the greatest societal, environmental and economic challenges of our time. As important as funding this vital research is, it is just as important that we share the knowledge that comes from it, and ensure it is understood by as many people as possible.
Through Research Ireland’s sponsorship of this SMEDIAs category, we hope we can help kick start the career path of the next generation of journalists writing about STEM and help to better inform the citizens of Ireland about key issues and reliable sources of information. To this end, the winning journalist in this category will receive a prize fund of €1,000 as part of the Research Ireland Student Journalism Bursary and will be invited to write an article to be published on ResearchIreland.ie. We can’t wait to see what stories you have to tell, and we wish you the very best of luck with your submissions.