ABSW hosts online networking event for student science writers
Student science writers met and talked with leading science editors about their experiences and advice. By Anoushka Sinha, ABSW Student Rep.
Photo: Julia M Cameron/Pexels
With four seasoned experts in the field, questions and answers flowed freely. Some students even followed up afterwards, asking for editors’ contact details to continue the conversation.
“I thought it was a brilliant networking event and thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone!”, one of the participants replied in the anonymous survey.
At the online networking event on 25 February 2026, attendees were split into small groups of two or three and assigned to ‘rooms’ to speak with the four editors who attended: science journalist and podcaster Paul Adepoju; Deborah Cohen, former Editor of the BBC Radio Science Unit; Tushna Commissariat, Features Editor at Physics World; and Mun-Keat Looi, the International News & Features Editor at The BMJ.
Brian Lin, who oversees EurekAlert!, also attended the event. Eurekalert! is the ABSW's Lead Professional Development Partner and supports training opportunities and events. Lin and ABSW Student Representative Anoushka Sinha hosted a separate room, speaking with students who were not in sessions with the editors, and discussing career paths, challenges and opportunities.
It was exciting to see student writers from different stages in their education and careers. Some had only just joined their university newspapers, while others were on the brink of completing their education and had written regularly for years.
Notably, there were several mature students whose experience in other fields and passion for science writing helped drive the discussion. Participants explored topics including the current state of science, differences between features and news, and effective ways to source quotes from researchers.
As student science journalists, it can be easy to feel trapped between peers who study the sciences and those who study the humanities. Finding common ground with attendees at this session was, therefore, refreshing.
Hosting the event online allowed attendees to join from across the UK, with one logging in from Germany.
The session was exclusive to ABSW Student members, and around half of those attending had only recently joined the association, so it was great to share the advice and networking opportunities available here.
Near the end of the session, and on feedback forms, student science writers highlighted they wanted more time with the editors. ABSW plans to run further networking events with adjusted timings to allow deeper conversations and stronger connections between students and editors.
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Anoushka Sinha is the ABSW Student Representative. She is studying for an MSci in Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology at King’s College London (KCL). She is the Science Editor at her university newspaper, Roar, and also works as an Astronomy Presenter at the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
Having covered ABSW events in the past, Anoushka is looking forward to creating more opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience in science writing through the ABSW.
