“Why fund frontier research? The role of journalism in answering a crucial question for society” is the title of the international event that the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) will host on September 5 at 10 a.m. in the Auditorium of its Genoa headquarters. The meeting will explore the relationship between frontier science and journalism, with a particular focus on European initiatives designed to foster dialogue between the two fields.
Participation is open to all, subject to registration at the following link and until capacity is reached: https://forms.office.com/e/mXpur22Vtd?origin=lprLink. The event will be held in English.
The initiative is organized by IIT in collaboration with the European project FRONTIERS – funded by the European Research Council (ERC) to promote journalistic residencies in European research centers – and the Association of ERC Grantees (AERG).
IIT is one of the FRONTIERS host institutions, offering opportunities for science journalists from different countries, career stages, and media backgrounds to spend periods of study and reporting on frontier research. The Institute currently hosts 73 scientific projects recognized by the ERC as excellent at the European level.
Speakers will include representatives from research and science journalism: Maria Leptin, ERC President; Giorgio Metta, IIT Scientific Director; Michele Mazzola, Head of the Office for the Internationalization of Research at MUR; Michele Guerrini, Italian Counsellor for Research and Innovation to the EU; Brando Benifei, Member of the European Parliament and STOA member; Agnieszka Wykowska, AERG board member and IIT researcher; Axel Cleeremans, AERG President and Professor at Université libre de Bruxelles; Agnès Vernet, President of the European Federation for Science Journalism; Edward Day, Press Officer at the Science Media Center in London; Terry O’Connor, Head of Special Projects at EMBO; and Marcin Monko, Head of Sector Media and Content at the ERC.
The results of the FRONTIERS project’s first year will be presented by science journalists Daniela Ovadia and Fabio Turone, founders of the Center for Ethics in Science and Journalism and project partners.
Artificial Intelligence expert Theodoros Evgeniou will give a talk titled “Will there actually be a pre and post AI era?”, illustrating how contemporary science is reshaping society.
AERG will also lead a session on the “Ambassadors of ERC” network, an initiative jointly promoted by AERG and ERC to highlight frontier research through ambassadors acting as contact points for media professionals. Contributions will come from Giuseppe Paternò (former IIT researcher, now Professor at Politecnico di Milano), Susi Geiger (Professor at University College Dublin, online), and Mona Simion (Professor at the University of Glasgow, online).
The full program is available at the following flyer:
