فلوشیپ UK MEET ۲۰۲۶ برای خبرنگاران و سازندگان محتوای دیجیتال در غنا و نیجریه

UK–West Africa Media Excellence in Emerging Technologies (MEET) Fellowship 2026 یک professional-development programme برای journalists و digital content creators مستقر در Ghana و Nigeria است تا reporting خود را درباره science، innovation و emerging technologies دقیق‌تر، خلاقانه‌تر و مسئولانه‌تر کنند.

Partners

• British High Commission teams in Accra، Lagos and Abuja.
• Imperial College London through Imperial Global Ghana.

Deadline

22 September 2026، 23:45 GMT.

Application

official online form

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/ugjTfMLCWQ

Programme Structure

• Phase 0: two short online sessions + pre-reading during week of 5 October 2026.
• Six-night residential training in country of residence.
• Ghana residential: week beginning 12 October 2026، with expected Sunday-evening arrival around 11 October.
• Nigeria residential: week beginning 19 October 2026، with expected arrival around 18 October.
• UK knowledge exchange for selected pitch award winners: week of 30 November 2026.

Residential participation is country-specific

Ghana-based participants attend Ghana programme. Nigeria-based participants attend Nigeria programme. Applicants cannot select another country merely for convenient dates.

Main Goal

strengthen excellence in

• science reporting.
• innovation reporting.
• technology reporting.
• digital storytelling.
• public communication of technical information.

Participants learn to translate complicated scientific/technical topics into content that is:

• accurate.
• accessible.
• engaging.
• relevant.
• responsible.
• useful to diverse audiences.

Why Programme Exists

Emerging technologies and science affect work، education، health، climate، infrastructure، public policy and society. Journalists need to distinguish evidence from hype، identify credible experts، explain uncertainty and communicate technical ideas clearly.

Core Themes

• Artificial Intelligence:
• generative AI.
• automation.
• algorithms.
• data.
• misinformation.
• employment.
• education.
• healthcare.
• governance.
• privacy.
• bias.
• ethics.
• public-sector AI.

Questions journalists should ask include

what can technology actually do، what evidence supports claims، who developed it، what data it uses، who benefits/loses، safeguards and regulatory debates.

• Climate & Environmental Risk:
• climate change.
• flooding.
• extreme heat.
• pollution.
• coastal risk.
• environmental degradation.
• adaptation.
• resilience.
• energy transition.
• environmental health.

Focus includes communicating uncertainty accurately and connecting global science to local community impacts in Ghana/Nigeria.

• Biomedical Innovation:
• medical technologies.
• diagnostics.
• biotechnology.
• public-health innovation.
• pharmaceutical research.
• genomics.
• health technology.
• digital health.
• clinical research.

Good reporting should distinguish promises from actual evidence/stage of development.

• Circular Economy & E-Waste:
• reuse.
• repair.
• recycling.
• resource recovery.
• sustainable production.
• product design.
• contamination.
• informal recycling.
• health.
• technology consumption.
• international waste flows.
• regulation.
• employment.
• industrial policy.

Five Core Skills

• Understanding complex science/technology concepts.
• Effective science communication.
• Emerging technology for public good.
• Ethics in science/technology reporting.
• Direct engagement with experts.

Ethics may include

accuracy، sourcing، sensationalism، privacy، conflicts of interest، representation، uncertainty، public harm and responsible digital-tool use.

Experts Participants Engage With

• researchers.
• policymakers.
• innovators.
• industry professionals.

Digital Storytelling Training

• platform strategy.
• short-form video.
• data storytelling.
• visual design.
• adapting stories for websites/social/mobile/visual formats.

Networking

access to researchers، policymakers، innovators، industry، fellow journalists and creators. This can strengthen future access to expert interpretation، technical clarification، background briefings and story leads.

Story Pitch

during programme، each participant develops an original journalism story concept. On final day of residential training، participants pitch for an award supporting production/publication. Public call does not state a fixed monetary amount for pitch funding.

Potential Strong Pitch

• clear science/innovation/tech connection.
• public relevance.
• clear audience.
• real reporting question/problem.
• credible expert access.
• original reporting potential.
• public-interest value.
• appropriate digital format.

UK Knowledge Exchange

A selected subset of participants/pitch award winners receives a fully funded week-long London knowledge-exchange visit including engagement with Imperial College London.

Important

residential fellowship participation does NOT automatically guarantee UK visit.

Minimum Eligibility – all seven required

• Age:

18+. No maximum age stated.

• Location:

currently based in Ghana or Nigeria and apply through that country track.

• Profession:

currently

• journalist in print، broadcast or online media؛ OR
• eligible social/digital content creator with active publicly viewable presence on relevant platform such as TikTok and content relevant to science، innovation or technology.

• Previous Work:

at least five original science/innovation/technology-related content pieces produced within previous 12 months، with links. Topics may include climate، health، technology، agriculture، energy and related fields.

• Full Attendance:

must attend Phase 0 + complete residential programme. Partial attendance is not permitted.

• Passport:

valid international passport OR genuine ability to obtain one in time for potential UK travel.

• English:

professional working/communication ability in English. No IELTS/TOEFL certificate specified.

Selection Criteria

• Relevance to science/innovation/technology: 35%
• Quality of previous work: 30%
• Potential for impact: 25%
• Collaboration readiness: 5%
• Diversity and inclusion: 5%

Therefore 65% of score comes from thematic relevance + quality of previous work.

Potential Impact

Applicants should explain concrete change such as

• stronger evidence-based reporting.
• regular technology/science coverage.
• regional newsroom expansion.
• short-form explainers.
• training colleagues.
• reaching underserved audiences.

Collaboration Readiness

Applicants may identify researchers، labs، universities، topics or research areas whose work they want to amplify.

Diversity

• women strongly encouraged.
• target at least 40% female representation.
• applicants outside major urban centres encouraged.
• underrepresented regions، marginalized groups and underrepresented voices encouraged.

This is not a women-only programme.

Application Preparation

• Select five strongest recent SIT work samples.
• Demonstrate quality، originality، sourcing and public relevance.
• Explain either depth in one SIT beat or breadth across themes.
• State specific impact plan.
• Identify possible research collaborators/topics.
• think about a future story pitch.
• check passport early.

Application Process

official Microsoft online form begins with eligibility screening and basic information such as:

• first/last name.
• email.
• gender.
• referral source.
• country track.

Then eligible applicants complete full submission and provide work links.

Data/Privacy

Application data used for eligibility screening، shortlisting، selection، audit and programme evaluation and may be shared with relevant British High Commission team for country track.

Funding/Costs

The source describes residential programme participation and the selected UK knowledge-exchange as funded programme components. Applicants should rely on official organiser guidance for exact travel/accommodation arrangements of the in-country training and any pitch-production award.

Programme Timeline

• Deadline: 22 Sep 2026، 23:45 GMT
• Online Phase 0: week of 5 Oct
• Ghana residential: week of 12 Oct
• Nigeria residential: week of 19 Oct
• UK visit for selected participants: week of 30 Nov

Key Facts

• Programme: UK–West Africa MEET Fellowship 2026
• Partners: British High Commission + Imperial College London / Imperial Global Ghana
• Eligible base: Ghana or Nigeria
• Participants: journalists + qualifying digital creators
• Required recent work: 5 SIT pieces in last 12 months
• Training: online + six-night residential
• story pitch for production/publication support
• selected participants: fully funded London knowledge exchange
• professional English
• passport or ability to obtain one
• deadline: 22 Sep 2026، 23:45 GMT

Contact

[email protected].