Connect FM’s Portia Cudjoe selected for UK Media Excellence for Emerging Technology Fellowship

Journalist with Media General’s Connect FM in Takoradi, Portia Cudjoe, has been selected for the UK Media Excellence for Emerging Technology (UK MEET) Fellowship, a programme aimed at strengthening journalism on science, technology and emerging innovations.

The fellowship, delivered by Imperial College London through Imperial Global Ghana, with support from the British High Commission, attracted more than 500 applications from journalists and content creators across Ghana and Nigeria.

Portia Cudjoe’s selection follows a competitive process that assessed applicants’ reporting experience, perspectives and proposed investigative story ideas.

As part of the programme, fellows are participating in a Zero Week online workshop, which serves as an introductory phase ahead of the subsequent training activities.

The online sessions provide an opportunity for participants to familiarise themselves with the fellowship, engage with facilitators and other fellows, and prepare for the programme’s focus on emerging technologies and journalism.

The fellowship is expected to equip participants with practical skills to scrutinise scientific and technological claims, verify information, analyse relevant data and translate complex developments into accessible stories for the public.

The programme will also include residential training in Accra, where fellows are expected to engage with researchers working in areas such as artificial intelligence, climate change and health technology.

In addition, editorial clinics will help participants refine their story ideas, strengthen their sources and develop effective publication strategies for their proposed reports.

The initiative also seeks to promote collaboration and knowledge-sharing among science and technology journalists across the region, creating opportunities for professional networking and cross-border engagement.

As emerging technologies increasingly influence public life, the UK MEET Fellowship aims to strengthen journalism’s role in ensuring that innovations are accurately reported, critically examined and clearly understood by the public.

For Portia Cudjoe, the fellowship presents an opportunity to deepen her understanding of emerging technologies and explore how they can shape journalism and media practice.

She looks forward to applying the knowledge and practical skills gained to produce evidence-based, impactful stories that serve the public interest, particularly in Ghana’s Western Region, where technology-driven developments have implications for agriculture, livelihoods, healthcare and community development.

Through her participation, she hopes to strengthen her reporting on emerging technologies and contribute to a media landscape that promotes informed public discussion, accountability and responsible innovation.