Deadline: 21-Apr-23

The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) has launched its JournalismAI Fellowship Programme, a free online initiative that brings together journalists and technologists from media organisations worldwide to explore innovative solutions to improve journalism via the use of AI technologies.

Up to 30 journalists and technologists will be selected to join the 2023 Fellowship cohort and work together over the course of six months (June to December) towards building AI-powered solutions that enhance reporting.

To take part in the programme, you need to have some experience working on products and/or stories that involve the use of AI technologies.

LSE has designed the programme so that fellows keep their jobs while they dedicate 8 hours a week to the Fellowship. Teams will be given financial support for project expenses, as well as mentorship and coaching from experts in the JournalismAI community.

Since collaboration is at the heart of all JournalismAI activities, the Fellowship Programme includes a collaborative component too – on a double level:

Rather than individual fellows, LSE invites pairs of colleagues from the same organisation to apply (one person with an editorial/strategic role and the other one with a technical role).

Then, after the initial application, each pair will have to find another pair from a different organisation to form a team that will work on the same project.

What will I get out of the Fellowship? 

The aim of the JournalismAI Fellowship Programme is to provide a safe space where fellows can explore and experiment with new ideas, away from the constraints of their day-to-day work.

Through project-based work, the programme aims to advance fellows’ AI expertise, benefiting their own professional development and enabling their organisations to accelerate AI adoption and implementation.

By the end of the programme participants will have:

• Improved their understanding of the potential offered to journalism by AI technologies.
• Learned new methods and skills to experiment and prototype new ideas.
• Developed their thinking about the role of technology in journalism.
• Experienced the power of international collaboration.
• Built trust between editorial and technical teams in their own organisation.
• Gained new perspectives from a multicultural, interdisciplinary environment.
• Learned about a set of AI-powered tools available for news organisations.
• Developed an international network of like-minded news innovators.
• Built a prototype of their AI-powered solution.
• Shared their learnings with the global JournalismAI community.

How does the Fellowship programme work?

• Pairs of colleagues – one person with an editorial/strategic role and the other one with a technical role – will be selected to take part in the programme.
• Through a guided match-making process, each pair of fellows will team up with another pair from a different organisation to form a team.
• Teams will choose which project they want to work on during the Fellowship. The project must focus on building an AI-powered solution that enhances the reporting capabilities of their newsrooms, innovating content and formats to better inform their audiences.
• The JournalismAI Fellowship Programme is participant-driven. Each team will organise and develop its work independently during the six months, with guidance from the JournalismAI team and regular check-ins with the rest of the cohort.
• Each team will be provided with a coach/mentor, identified in coordination with the JournalismAI team, and will receive access to JournalismAI’s global network of experts, researchers, and innovators in the field of AI-journalism.
• Over the six months, the teams will be guided through phases of definition, ideation, prototyping, and testing. The goal is to work together towards building AI-powered solutions that enhance reporting and storytelling.

Eligibility Criteria

• LSE invites applications from pairs of journalists and technologists working in news organisations anywhere in the world who have experience working on products and/or stories that involve the use of AI technologies.

For more information, visit LSE.