Dunbar’s number and mould-ridden housing pieces take the prize in student science journalism awards
Harshitaa Sendhilkumar won the ‘Best Science and Tech Piece’, and Epigram the ‘Best Science Publication or Section’, at SPANC2025. By Emma Hattersley
Picture: Student Publication Association National Conference 2025 opening - SPA
The winners of the 2025 Student Publication Awards were announced to a room filled with the next generation of top journalism talent on 5 April in Exeter, at the Student Publication Association National Conference - SPANC2025.
As part of its ongoing support of the Student Publication Association, ABSW sponsored the awards for ‘Best Science and Tech Piece’ and ‘Best Science Publication or Section’. ABSW Chair Andy Extance and I, the Student Representative at ABSW's Board, judged these awards.
The winner of ‘Best Science and Tech Piece’ was Harshitaa Sendhilkumar for her piece “How many friends can you really have? Rethinking Dunbar’s number and the 150-friend limit to our social circles.” This article was published in RUMS Review, the UCL Medical School Journal, and ably grounded the complexities of anthropological theory in the day-to-day lives of its readers.
Highly Commended went to Jana Bazeed of King's College London’s student paper Roar News, and ABSW member, for her piece “PopSci and Science Communication—Science Fact or Fiction?”. One of the first articles produced for the publication’s new science section, the judges felt Bazeed’s analysis of the science media landscape was remarkably astute, balanced and insightful.
Picture: Jana Bazeed of Roar News accepting the Highly Commended award for ‘Best Science and Tech Piece’ from ABSW Student Representative Emma Hattersley - Student Publication Association
Judging the award for ‘Best Science Publication or Section’ was equally challenging, but the Epigram SciTech section, part of the University of Bristol’s student paper, stood out for the diligence of their reporting.
After the section was nearly scrapped at the end of the past academic year due to a low number of contributors, their editorial team worked hard on a variety of innovative solutions, including an idea-generation workshop and a new ‘head researcher’ role. The result was an impressively productive section that covered a wide range of science, from Bristol’s ban on experiments forcing mice to swim to their work on the ‘Break the Mould’ campaign against unhealthy housing.
James Lewis, Deputy Editor of the Epigram SciTech section, accepting their award for ‘Best Science Publication or Section’ from ABSW Student Representative Emma Hattersley - Student Publication Association
Katie Kavanagh and Kai Yuan Mor accepting the Highly Commended award for 'Best Science Publication or Section’ from ABSW Student Representative Emma Hattersley - Student Publication Association
UCL Science Magazine also excelled this year and was named Highly Commended for its creative approach to science journalism. Alongside their adept scientific reporting, we were impressed by their commitment to science outreach initiatives and their support system for new writers.
The ABSW is a long-standing sponsor of the Student Publication Association and remains committed to supporting upcoming science writing talent. We’d love to see as many student members as possible join us (we offer student membership for two years after graduation) and hope to meet many of them at the ABSW Summer School in London this July.
Emma Hattersley is the Student Representative at ABSW's Board. She is currently in her final year at the University of Manchester, studying for an MPhys in Physics with Professional Placement. She spent the past year on a science communication placement within the STFC Particle Physics Department at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, where she set up the organisation’s first Student Media Day. Prior to this, Emma was the Editor of the Mancunion Science and Technology Section, winner of the 2023 Student Publication Award ‘Best Science and Technology Publication or Section’.
