Entities involved: The Lookout Station, Wellcome Trust and Journalism AI

Number of participants: 25

Fuse is a hands-on training day where reporters will learn how to integrate cutting-edge technologies into their storytelling. Over the course of the workshop, participants will explore case studies, be taught the basics of the new tech and, most importantly, by the end of the day they will have built working prototypes. It will be hard work but also a lot of fun. 

We expect a high demand for FUSE and only have space for 25 reporters at each workshop, so please only apply if you can guarantee your attendance for the whole day. As part of the sign-up, you will be required to fill in a second form telling us about yourself and why you’d like to attend. We cannot accept your application without your answers to this second form. You will be notified in May whether or not you have secured a place on the workshop. 

The Fuse Workshops are produced and facilitated by Alok Jha, the science correspondent of The Economist and Rina Tsubaki, the founder and lead of the Lookout Station, a EFI science media initiative.

The application process in steps:

Step 1: You need to first register for WCSJ2019.

Step 2: You are required to also fill in this form. Please make sure to complete your application before 24 May 2019.

Step 3: You will receive an automatic email confirming that we have received your application. In total, 25 participants will be selected per Fuse workshop. The participants will be selected on the basis of their commitment, diversity in their specialisations and background, and willingness to learn new skills.

Step 4: You will hear about the results before 31 May 2019.

The application deadline: 24 May 2019.

Important remarks:

The accepted participants will have to take part in the Fuse workshop track in full. In other words, if selected, the participants will NOT be able to attend ANY OTHER sessions of the program on the same day.

FUSE-1 Augmented Reality

Our first workshop, Fuse Workshop 1: Augmented Reality will explore how science journalism can use AR in storytelling and audience engagement. AR has been at the forefront of immersive technologies and is a powerful medium to reach and engage wide audiences, by allowing journalists to place the story itself within users’ environment.
In this workshop, you will learn different methods to use AR storytelling and build your own project, by creating an image-recognition AR application using the Unity Game Engine. We will show you how to integrate a photo, a video and/or a 3D asset which will appear when the application recognises the chosen image.
No previous experience in coding or tools required, but basic understanding of computer science and coding is a plus. This is a workshop for people who have no experience in immersive media and augmented reality. Total beginners who are passionate about learning new technology are most welcome.

This workshop is sponsored by Wellcome Trust.

REQUIREMENTS:

• a laptop with the following softwares (free downloads & instruction to be provided): Unity (for both PC & Mac) and XCode (For Mac only and needed only if you want to upload the application on an iPhone/iPad.)
  
  AND
  
  
• an iPhone/iPad with iOS 11 and  higher and compatible with ARKit: Use this list to determine if your device is compatible with ARKit
  
  OR
  
  
• an Android device compatible with ARCore (with minimum Android API SDK v.24 (Marshmallow)): Use this list> to determine if your device is compatible with ARCore.