Cosy cocktails and careers - serving our student members!

Report from Scout Barker, ABSW Student Rep and MSc Science Communication student at UCL

Last Thursday (November 16, 2023), a group of aspiring science journalists and established professionals gathered in a cosy cocktail bar for a night of food, drink, and conversation at our ABSW student careers event. The event was designed to help students get their foot in the science writing door with a chance to chat over a martini or a “no-tini”, whatever tickled their fancy.

Star-studded lineup

The room was organised in a style akin to speed dating, allowing students to have one-on-one sessions with a star-studded lineup. Deborah Cohen, Tom Whipple, Sarah Richardson, Pallab Ghosh, Geoff Marsh, and Katherine Fidler were invited to chat with the students, representing the breadth of expertise science journalism has to offer. They shared wisdom from their time working at organisations such as The Times, BBC, ITV, Research* Professional and The Metro, as well as fascinating insights from their independent and freelance work.

Musical chairs

It was a night of musical chairs as students went from table to table discussing topics such as the art of the podcast, the pressures of live broadcast and the trick to a good interview. While some tables discussed the pressures and challenges faced by science journalists, others explored the opportunities and possibilities in the ever-changing field. Conversations were honest and respectful, and no question was thought a silly one. Overall, the night seemed a roaring success.

Invaluable

One student from UCL’s new MSc Science Communication course labelled the night “invaluable”, suggesting that they thought “it would take years of working as a journalist to get a chance to talk to people of such calibre”. This high praise was mirrored by our journalists, who all also expressed their enjoyment of chatting with the students. Ghosh even went as far as to say that the night reminded him of “how lucky we are to be science journalists”.

Making connections

The night was a wonderful exhibit of knowledge sharing and networking, with many emails exchanged and LinkedIn connections made. So, no doubt, many of the conversations that started on Thursday will get a chance to continue.

New members

Attendees at this event got an ABSW membership included with their tickets, so keep an eye out for our ABSW students at future events. They may soon be the ones sitting on the journalist end of the table.

Thanks are due to ABSW Board members Scout Barker and Bob Ward for organising this ABSW event, plus to the journalists who gave freely of their time to provide advice to our student members