Interested in science journalism? Win $2,500 to fund your research

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is offering two Canadian post-secondary students $2,500 apiece to write a feature story on a scientific topic. The deadline to apply for The CFI Emerging Science Journalists Award is Feb. 1, 2011. The money will be awarded to the successful applicants in April 2011.

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is offering two Canadian post-secondary students $2,500 apiece to write a feature story on a scientific topic. The deadline to apply for The CFI Emerging Science Journalists Award is Feb. 1, 2011. The money will be awarded to the successful applicants in April 2011.

Your story idea must be based on any one of the nearly 7,000 CFI-sponsored research projects. There is a searchable database of all the projects on their website. In order to be eligible for the award, students must have recently prepared at least one piece of science communication of a journalistic nature aimed at the general public. Class assignments count.

Applicants can be enrolled in courses in science or health journalism, science popularization, science communications and non-fiction writing. Full-time students outside these specific academic areas are also eligible so long as they can provide recent examples of communicating science to the public.

The cash award will subsidize your research, so remember to include a budget for travel costs and other reporting expenses in your pitch — and make sure your story idea is "worth" $2,500. You have the option of telling the story through print, broadcast, online or mixed media. Additional details are available on the CFI website.

Created by the Canadian government in 1997, the CFI is an independent corporation whose mandate is to provide funding for research infrastructure (facilities, research equipment) to Canadian universities, hospitals and colleges. Funding from the CFI enables institutions to set their own research priorities and provides them with the means to compete internationally. Since its inception, the Foundation has committed $5.3 billion in support.

The intention of the  CFI Emerging Science Journalism Award is to encourage the next generation of science journalists and communicators in Canada and familiarize them with the work of the CFI.