The Science Guide is part of the “Science in Europe” project at the Department for Science Journalism of TU Dortmund University. On its newly designed website www.science-guide.eu, university students in journalism share their insights about unique research locations and projects in Europe, for instance the renowned Institut Pasteur in Paris where the HI virus was discovered, the continent’s longest underwater canyon, located off the coast of Portugal, and the mega wind farm near the westernmost point of Denmark. These “science sights” are definitely worth a visit and just as exciting as the “insider tips” you find in any travel guide.

 “Our idea is to see people’s desire to travel and their interest in certain countries also as an opportunity for arousing their interest in science and research,” explains Holger Wormer, professor for science journalism. “Another aim of the project is to intensify the exchange between students from France and Germany.”

 The project receives funding from the Wilo-Foundation, which has been supporting the annual German-French seminars with students from Dortmund, Strasburg and Dijon over the last ten years. “With our support, we intend to strategically promote the exchange between future science journalists from TU Dortmund University and students from universities in France – and this has become a tradition,” says Evi Hoch, member of the Executive Board of the Wilo-Foundation. “Bringing together the student’s collaborative research findings and reports is an important step that helps to increase the transparency of scientific research in Europe and opens up new perspectives in this field. We are pleased that we can contribute in this way to scientifically sound journalism.”

In July 2022, students from Dortmund and from the universities of Strasburg and Dijon will be reporting, on behalf of the Science Guide, on the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) in Leiden (Netherlands). Another aim of this collaborative initiative is to help deepen the mutual understanding of the respective partners’ cultural contexts in science and journalism.