Each year, the ABC offers a small group of emerging Australian researchers the opportunity to learn how to expertly communicate their speciality to broad audiences. The 2024 program is open now.
Applications are open until 5 May for the 2024 ABC TOP 5 Media Residency program which is open to 15 PhD scholars across Humanities, Science and the Arts.
The ABC program is delivered in partnership with the University of Melbourne, Australian National University, the University of Sydney and Creative Australia (formally the Australia Council for the Arts).
The researchers-in-residence in each of the three categories get to spend two weeks working alongside the ABC’s award-winning journalists and producers, learning first-hand about the craft of delivery through audio, television, and digital platforms.
ANU scientist Dr Ehsan Nabavi, a participant in last year’s program, is working to find ways to ensure responsible use of AI.
Scientists in the field of 'responsible innovation', he said, have a responsibility to actively engage with the media and the public to ensure that innovations align with societal values.
Dr Nabavi said he wanted to learn the best ways to communicate “complex ideas in a world of competing facts and values around emerging technologies”.
2021 participant, Dr Jathan Sadowski, now a Monash University Research Fellow, said the opportunity is invaluable.
“If you are at all interested in making your work understandable, relatable, meaningful to the public, then there is no better program out there to build the skills needed to do that.”