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What is Fresh Science?

Fresh Science is a national event that brings together scientists, the media and the public. It is designed to:

  • enhance reporting of Australian science
  • highlight and encourage debate on the role of science in Australian society
  • provide role models for the next generation of Australian scientists.

Previous Fresh Scientists have attracted national and international interest resulting in hundreds of media stories, including national television news. Details of previous winners, their press releases and media coverage can be seen on this website.

State winners will participate in media training with Fresh Science prior to their State events.

You can also read stories about past winners and finalists under Fresh Science stories.

The history of Fresh Science

Fresh Science was originally part of a larger event – ScienceNOW! — a forum established in 1997 to bring together scientists, the media and the general public. It was based on a couple of simple premises: Australia needed to improve and expand its science reporting, and it also needed a way for its best young scientists to present their work before an audience much broader than their peers.

The forum was held over four days at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre inside the Great Australian Science Show (GASS) in 1998 and 1999. This non-profit event run was primarily sponsored by the Victorian and Federal governments and supported by Australia’s leading science organisations including the Australian Academy of Science, CSIRO, Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS), and ANZAAS.

A series of free public forums with international and Australian speakers discussed hot science topics such as the global fight against disease, human cloning, and science in the media. Public sessions at ScienceNOW! covered entertaining issues such as Time and Time Travel; and Hollywood Meets the Labcoats – an annual irreverent look at science in the movies.Each year a prominent international science journalist was invited to participate in ScienceNOW! and then travel around Australia reporting on other hot science issues.

Starting in 2002, Fresh Science has been held as a standalone event in association with National Science Week.

Fresh Science

 

Fresh Science is on hold for 2022. We will be back in 2023.

Let us know if you want to receive updates about the program.

Fresh Science is a national competition and training program helping early-career researchers find and share their stories of discovery.

We take young researchers with no media experience and help them become media spokespeople for their science, and reach stakeholders in government and industry.

Fresh Science gives finalists a taste of life in the limelight, with a day of media training, a day of training in stakeholder engagement, and a public event in their home state.

Alumni of the program include Professor Allan Duffy and Dr Niraj Lal.

Read some of the fresh science we discovered in 2021 here.

On Twitter #FreshSci

Feedback and Testimonials

Comments from Fresh Scientists:

I never had so much confidence to go out in public and talk about my research and would have never done if I had not been part of this workshop. They were also very patient and explained the concepts so clearly. They have definitely been great initiators to take science to the society and have changed my view on science journalism for good. Thanks a lot for all the efforts and training.

Shwathy Ramesan, RMIT, 2019 VIC Fresh Scientist

Fresh Science
2020-11-24T13:35:16+11:00

Shwathy Ramesan, RMIT, 2019 VIC Fresh Scientist

I never had so much confidence to go out in public and talk about my research and would have never done if I had not been part of this workshop. They were also very patient and explained the concepts so clearly. They have definitely been great initiators to take science to the society and have changed my view on science journalism for good. Thanks a lot for all the efforts and training.
Took part in their media training course as part of Fresh Science. Great opportunity, learnt a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the course.

Laurence Luu, UNSW, 2019 NSW Fresh Science

Fresh Science
2020-11-24T13:52:58+11:00

Laurence Luu, UNSW, 2019 NSW Fresh Science

Took part in their media training course as part of Fresh Science. Great opportunity, learnt a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the course.
I had the incredible chance to participate at the FreshScience workshop in Perth this year and I could not be happier with the organisation and the material provided. Very useful and great tips for science communication. Definitely, this will help me in my future career. Thanks a lot for the opportunity!

Alba Claramunt, UoWA, 2019 WA Fresh Scientist

Fresh Science
2020-11-24T14:09:32+11:00

Alba Claramunt, UoWA, 2019 WA Fresh Scientist

I had the incredible chance to participate at the FreshScience workshop in Perth this year and I could not be happier with the organisation and the material provided. Very useful and great tips for science communication. Definitely, this will help me in my future career. Thanks a lot for the opportunity!
I participated in the Fresh Science media training program in 2017 and was the winner in Victoria. I am sincerely thankful to the team - Lydia, Sarah, Toni and Niall - for giving such excellent guidance on how to deal with the media coverage and how to present my work to the general audience. The exposure that we got in the training - meeting with several journalists from different media channels, rehearsing media interviews and pitching for funding - was excellent boost for me to think beyond my PhD.

Deepti Aggarwal, RMIT, VIC 2017 Fresh Scientist (winner)

Fresh Science
2020-11-24T14:15:24+11:00

Deepti Aggarwal, RMIT, VIC 2017 Fresh Scientist (winner)

I participated in the Fresh Science media training program in 2017 and was the winner in Victoria. I am sincerely thankful to the team - Lydia, Sarah, Toni and Niall - for giving such excellent guidance on how to deal with the media coverage and how to present my work to the general audience. The exposure that we got in the training - meeting with several journalists from different media channels, rehearsing media interviews and pitching for funding - was excellent boost for me to think beyond my PhD.
Presenters are very knowledgeable and approachable.

Dayna Cenin, UWA, 2019 WA Fresh Scientist

Fresh Science
2020-11-24T14:18:43+11:00

Dayna Cenin, UWA, 2019 WA Fresh Scientist

Presenters are very knowledgeable and approachable.
I loved getting to talk to journalists and being able to pitch to them.

Anonymous, 2019 Fresh Scientist

Fresh Science
2020-11-24T14:21:42+11:00

Anonymous, 2019 Fresh Scientist

I loved getting to talk to journalists and being able to pitch to them.
The fresh science training was a hands on program. I truly enjoyed the training with actual journalists and stake holders.

I had been struggling for a while with how to explain my research to the general public and the fresh science training really helped me to come up with different angles for different audiences.

I truly enjoyed the pub test because I had the opportunity to talk about the importance of geology  to the general public.

Sara Polanco, University of Sydney, NSW 2019 Fresh Scientist

Fresh Science
2021-07-02T18:54:22+11:00

Sara Polanco, University of Sydney, NSW 2019 Fresh Scientist

The fresh science training was a hands on program. I truly enjoyed the training with actual journalists and stake holders. I had been struggling for a while with how to explain my research to the general public and the fresh science training really helped me to come up with different angles for different audiences. I truly enjoyed the pub test because I had the opportunity to talk about the importance of geology  to the general public.
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