News professionals selected for the programme will receive live, instructor-led training in responsibly building AI tools or MVPs. This year, the programme focus will include agents and agentic AI.

The JournalismAI Skills Lab equips those working, or aspiring to work, in bridge roles with hands-on knowledge in building AI tools. The aim is to aid professionals with a deep understanding of how AI technologies practically function and for participants to work seamlessly within interdisciplinary teams. Ultimately, these professionals are empowered to lead responsible and ethical AI development in their news organisations.

Today, we are pleased to announce the participants selected for the second edition of this programme.

This year 25 news professionals from 23 countries will take part in the programme. Participants of the programme represent a range of organisations from small, independent, digital newsrooms, to journalism support organisations, and legacy organisations.

We received 326 applications from 93 countries across the world with participants applying to take part in two cohorts: Africa, Europe, Americas, and Asia-Pacific, Middle East. Applications revealed that there was varied motivation for candidates to take part in the programme, yet, there was strong consensus among them towards learning to develop responsible AI and systems design within their organisations. Many applicants also applied as part of smaller, resource-constrained newsrooms. For them, it is a path towards self-sufficiency and a door towards international engagement on news projects.

The 2026 JournalismAI Skills Lab participants are set to work on a range of projects, from investigation and OSINT tools to impact tracking, event monitoring, editorial workflow assistants and more. Participants will take part in live, instructor-led online sessions delivered by lead trainers Jenny Romano and Pedro Henriques, co-founders of The Newsroom, and Dr. Swapneel Mehta, co-founder of SimPPL. They will build their MVPs or prototypes over a period of 14 weeks, with the support of the lead trainers and guest instructors. The outcomes of their projects will be presented when the programme ends in early December 2026.

Meet the 2026 cohorts

Africa, Europe, and Americas

Federica Bordaberry, Product & Special Projects Editor, El Observador (Uruguay)

Federica Bordaberry is a journalist specialising in data, narrative journalism, and culture. Of Uruguayan and Argentinian origin, she holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication from the University of Montevideo and complemented her academic studies with a Master's degree in Data Journalism from Birmingham City University. She is currently Product and Special Projects Editor at the Uruguayan newspaper El Observador. She co-founded the cultural supplement of the digital media outlet Montevideo Portal, serving as its editor for several years. She has worked for regional media outlets such as Infobae América and currently contributes to international media as a freelancer. She teaches Data Journalism at the University of Montevideo, for the BA in Communication and she is a member of LATE magazine, where she developed much of her narrative journalism skills and now contributes to data-driven investigations through funding sources such as the Journalismfund.

Oluwatosin Oluwalowo, Editor-in-Chief, BoldSports (Nigeria)

Oluwatosin Oluwalowo is a Nigerian journalist, media entrepreneur, and founder and editor-in-chief of Bold Sports, a digital newsroom focused on Nigerian sport. He has experience across reporting, editing, newsroom leadership, audience development, and editorial strategy, with previous roles at PUNCH Newspapers and Western Post. His work is increasingly centred on media innovation and the practical use of technology in African journalism. Oluwalowo is particularly interested in how artificial intelligence can help newsrooms improve reporting workflows, deepen audience engagement, and build sustainable digital products without compromising editorial standards.

Bariskan Unal, Foreign and Economy News Publishing Manager, Anadolu Agency (Türkiye)

Barışkan Ünal is a senior journalist with more than 20 years of experience in international journalism, editorial strategy, and newsroom management. She currently serves as Foreign and Economy News Publishing Manager at Anadolu Agency (AA), leading editorial standards and newsroom coordination across Turkish-language news desks covering politics, international news, and economic affairs. She has spearheaded major editorial transformation projects at AA, including the development of the Agency’s headline and writing standards and the coordination of the AA Stylebook (News Ethics and Terminology Guidelines). Earlier in her career, she served as Chief Correspondent and Bureau Chief in Washington, D.C. A journalism scholar with a Ph.D., she is the author of the book Journalists in Cinema: Narratives, Archetypes and Myths, along with fifteen scholarly publications on journalism and cinema studies. She lectures at several universities and is active in international networks focused on media ethics and AI accountability.

Johnny Minor Mørup, Journalist & sub editor, Lex.dk / Danmarks Nationalleksikon (Denmark)

Johnny Minor Mørup is a Danish journalist and subeditor at Lex.dk / Danmarks Nationalleksikon, where he works in the business section, maintaining articles on Danish and international companies and the people behind them, with a particular focus on medtech and pharma. His work sits at the intersection of journalism, public knowledge, data and technology. He has contributed to data-driven journalistic investigations and has experience working with AI in an editorial context through testing Lex’s Danish chatbot project, developed in collaboration with the Center for Humanities Computing at Aarhus University. Johnny is interested in how AI can strengthen editorial workflows while preserving human judgement, accuracy and accountability.

Jailine González, La Nación (Costa Rica)

Jailine González is a journalist at La Nación (Costa Rica) working at the intersection of journalism and emerging technologies. She currently contributes to the design, testing, and implementation of AI initiatives in the newsroom and was part of the team behind "Pregúntele a LN", La Nación's AI-powered news assistant. Jailine earned a degree in Communication Studies from the University of Costa Rica and has a background in computer science. Alongside her journalistic work, she collaborates as a research assistant, studying how people interact with generative AI and how these interactions relate to communication and the production and negotiation of facts. Her interests include AI in newsrooms, human-AI interaction, and the development of technologies that respond to real journalistic needs.

Zoltán Sipos, Founder & Publisher, Átlátszó Erdély (Romania)

Zoltán Sipos is a journalist, founder and publisher of Átlátszó Erdély, an investigative journalism outlet covering the 1-million Hungarian minority community in Romania. Alongside his investigative work, he is increasingly focused on preserving the community's digital memory. He is interested in developing sustainable ways to archive born-digital journalism, websites, social media, and other online materials that document the lives of both individuals and institutions. His long-term vision is to transform this work into a grassroots initiative that empowers communities to safeguard their own digital heritage before it is lost through technological change, platform decay, or institutional neglect. Drawing on his experience in investigative journalism, digital research, and media innovation, he explores how archives can become living public resources that strengthen collective memory, support accountability, and preserve the stories, knowledge, and identities of minority communities for future generations.

Nelly Kalu, Co-founder & Editorial Director, Africa Talks Network (Nigeria)

Nelly Kalu is a news product leader, multi-format journalist, and media innovator. Her work sits at the intersection of technology, storytelling, and audience engagement. She manages news products, editorial projects, and experiments with new formats that help newsrooms serve communities more effectively. Her news product experience covers the development of investigative media innovation in AI, gaming, and immersive journalism, producing tools like ElectionWatch, Media Inlet, and Data Vault Canyon, a data investigations game on Fortnite. Nelly is also a journalism trainer and facilitator, working with media institutions across Africa and internationally. Nelly is a fellow of the CUNY Product Immersion Program, and the News Product Management Certification (NPMC).

Daniela Späth, Lab Lead, Deutsche Welle (Germany)

Daniela Späth is Deutsche Welle’s Lab Lead based in Berlin. In this role, she collaborates with interdisciplinary teams to develop products at the intersection of journalism and technology using Design Thinking methods. She is a DW-trained reporter, video journalist, and social media editor who loves experimenting with new platforms, emerging technologies, and code. Prior to joining DW, Daniela freelanced for SPIEGEL Online and Gruner + Jahr. She is a former fellow of Media Lab Bayern, Hamburg Media School, the Medieninnovationszentrum Babelsberg (MIZ), and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). She is also a graduate of the Erasmus Mundus Master’s programme in Journalism, Media and Globalisation.

Lloyd Mahachi, Multimedia Journalist, 263Chat (Zimbabwe)

Lloyd Mahachi is a multimedia journalist at 263Chat in the Journalism Department, producing, editing, and publishing across text, photo, audio, and video with a focus on all news bits. Lloyd’s story starts behind a lens. From age 3 they wanted to be a journalist, and with a photographer father, home was always full of pictures and questions. That curiosity grew into chasing facts, interviewing people, and telling human-centered stories. Today the childhood camera is professional gear, but the drive to reveal truth remains unchanged. Before joining 263Chat, Lloyd worked at World Eye Zimbabwe News and Josey M Agency, and is a graduate of the Journalism and Communications Department.

Gisella Salmón, Head of Audience Engagement, El Commercio (Peru)

Gisella Salmón is Head of Audience Engagement at El Comercio in Peru, leading audience strategy and the development of AI-assisted editorial products at the intersection of journalism, data and technology. She has led multidisciplinary teams focused on product innovation and newsroom transformation. Her recent work spans interactive election platforms, natural language processing (NLP) analysis of government plans, and automated editorial workflows designed to free up journalists for investigation, verification and context. Gisella was selected for international AI and leadership programmes by WAN-IFRA, including AI Catalyst LATAM and the Women in News Leadership Accelerator.

Andreas Fosse, Head of AI & User Data, E24 (Norway)

Andreas Fosse is head of AI and user data at E24, Norway’s biggest business paper and part of the Nordic media group Schibsted. He has over 20 years of experience as reporter, editor and product manager, today working in the intersection of journalism, data and technology, with a particular interest in and focus on how artificial intelligence can strengthen newsrooms, create better journalism and improve the news experience for its users. Andreas is also a JournalismAI fellow, completing the Fellowship program in 2024 together with the Real Estate Alerter team.

Igors Pankins, Web Specialist & Project Manager, Chayka (Latvia)

Igors Pankins is a web specialist and project manager at Chayka, a regional news outlet publishing in Russian and Latvian in Daugavpils, Latvia. His background spans news editing, website administration, copywriting, video production and media technology. He understands how small newsrooms operate, where staff often move between editorial, technical and organisational tasks as needs change. Previously, as a senior web specialist at Zinc Network, he worked on digital audits for media organisations, SEO, analytics, website performance, security and tools for editorial and social media teams. At Chayka, he built a human-in-the-loop module that drafts social media posts from news articles for an editor to review and approve.

Pilar Tomás, Senior Journalist - Visual Journalism, BBC (UK)

Pilar Tomás is a Senior Journalist on the Visual Journalism team at the BBC, where she has specialised in data and visual storytelling for over four years. Passionate about driving AI innovation in the newsroom, she is exploring how artificial intelligence can transform the way stories are told and help teams meet audiences where they are. She lectures in data journalism at university level and previously worked at leading Spanish outlets including EFE News Agency, Diari Ara, and ACN. She was recognised with the Google News Initiative Fellowship (2020), focused on interactive storytelling, and the EFE-La Caixa Fellowship (2019), through which she worked as a UK-based correspondent for Spanish media.

Julia Muñoz Moreno de Vega, Computational Linguist, PRISA Media (Spain)

Julia Muñoz Moreno de Vega is a Computational Linguist at PRISA Media and a member of its Artificial Intelligence team. She works with some of the world's most influential Spanish-language media brands, including El País, Cadena SER, and Caracol Radio, exploring how AI can be applied to editorial products, newsroom workflows, and audience experiences. Her work sits at the intersection of journalism, product innovation, and artificial intelligence, with a focus on how these technologies can create value for newsrooms and audiences. Her areas of interest include Natural Language Processing, generative AI, and the development of AI-powered products for media organisations. Originally trained in Classical and Hispanic Philology, she still enjoys returning to her roots through an enduring interest in Latin and Ancient Greek; a reminder that her fascination with language long predates the rise of AI.

Juhana Rossi, Managing Editor for Data and Information Services, Kauppalehti (Finland)

Juhana Rossi is Managing Editor for Data and Information Services at Kauppalehti, Finland's leading business daily. His most recent assignment was leading the investigative data reporting team and helping the newsroom put data to journalistic use. He is now spearheading a new automation initiative, which will leverage AI tools for company earnings reporting and market coverage. He holds a Master of Science in Data Journalism from Columbia University and a Master of Arts in English Language and Literature from the University of Helsinki. Previously a reporter at Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s leading daily newspaper, Dow Jones Newswires/The Wall Street Journal, and Talouselämä, Finland’s leading weekly business magazine, he has covered Finnish business and politics for over two decades. He served as president of the Finnish Business Journalists' Association in 2007–10. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time in Finland's lake country and reading.

Asia-Pacific and Middle East

Jamille Tran, Correspondent, The Business Times (Vietnam)

Jamille Tran is a correspondent at The Business Times, covering Vietnam and broader Asean affairs for an international audience. Her reporting focuses on the economic and business developments shaping Vietnam’s growth and its expanding role in South-east Asia. She holds a master’s degree in Global Business Journalism from Tsinghua University, which offers the programme in partnership with the International Center for Journalists and Bloomberg News. Before joining The Business Times, she reported for regional technology and startup platform e27 and Bloomberg’s Vietnam bureau, gaining experience in fast-moving financial, business and technology news.

Lucy King, Head of Data Investigations, Australian Financial Review (Australia)

Lucy King is an Australian reporter specialising in data-driven and investigative journalism at the Australian Financial Review. Her reporting combines data analysis, programming and traditional investigative techniques with a focus on corporate wrongdoing, regulatory gaps and white collar crime. Before joining the Financial Review, Lucy worked at The New York Times, VICE News, the BBC and Quartz News, reporting from London, New York and Sydney. Lucy is particularly interested in harnessing artificial intelligence to amplify the powers and possibilities of investigative reporting.

Rajneesh Bhandari, Founder & Chief Editor, Nepal Investigative Multimedia Journalism Network (Nepal)

Rajneesh Bhandari is an award-winning multimedia journalist, investigations editor, filmmaker, and educator based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He is the founder and chief editor of the Nepal Investigative Multimedia Journalism Network (NIMJN). He oversees investigations and training at NIMJN. He also contributes to OCCRP. His multimedia work on different issues has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, National Geographic, Aljazeera, AJ+, BBC Reel, Great Big Story, Contrast VR, NPR, and other outlets. He is a Fulbright Humphrey alumnus of the Cronkite School of Journalism and the recipient of the Themis Speak-up Award 2022 for his investigative journalism work in Nepal.

Ayswarya Murthy, Editor, 101Reporters (India)

Ayswarya Murthy is an editor and jack of all trades at 101Reporters, a network of grassroots journalists across India. She particularly loves journalists and the stories they tell. She believes in building communities based on empathy, knowledge and respect, and channelling them towards good. Her passion project is to improve the understanding of how panchayats (rural local governments) function among journalists, students and the general public. When it comes to artificial intelligence, she enjoys grappling with the big philosophical questions (and doomsday scenarios) just as much as experimenting with how it can make journalism useful to communities again.

Samya Ayish, Communications Manager, ARIJ (Jordan)

Samya Ayish is Communications Manager at ARIJ (Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism), where she leads the integration of Artificial Intelligence into newsroom workflows across the organisation. A former freelance journalist and digital media innovator, Samya trains journalists across the Arab world to combine AI tools with visual storytelling, helping newsrooms modernise their narratives and expand their reach across digital platforms. She was the first Teaching Fellow for the Google News Initiative in the MENA region, and spent nearly 15 years at CNN Arabic in Dubai before joining ARIJ in 2021. Samya holds a Master's degree in Communication and New Media from the University of Sharjah and a Bachelor's degree from the American University of Sharjah. She is also a children's book writer.

Rowena Paraan, Training Director, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (Philippines)

Rowena Paraan is a journalist from the Philippines, a press freedom advocate, and journalism educator. She is currently the Training Director of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) and implements training workshops on news investigations on various issues. Last year, she led PCIJ's Investigative Journalism Conference that focused on the use of AI in investigative reporting. Before PCIJ, she served as a consultant for UNESCO's regional office under its Communication and Information Sector, and headed for nine years ABS-CBN News's public service department and its pioneering citizen journalism programme. She is the former chairperson of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), an organisation that seeks to promote press freedom and journalists' welfare in the Philippines (2013-2015) and served in its Board of Directors for over 10 years.

Wuwei Zhang, International News Editor, The Paper (China)

Wuwei Zhang is an International News Editor based in Shanghai with a decade of journalism experience. She works at The Paper (澎湃新闻), a leading digital news platform headquartered in Shanghai that focuses on politics, current affairs, and thought leadership. Wuwei also hosts and produces her own international news podcast, where she unpacks pressing global events by inviting on-the-ground witnesses, authoritative experts, and scholars to share their insights. Passionate about exploring the frontiers of technology, she actively embraces artificial intelligence and is incredibly excited to be part of the media industry's technological evolution. She looks forward to leveraging AI to cross language barriers and expand the impact of audio storytelling.

Vikas Kumar, Executive Editor, The Quint Hindi (India)

Vikas Kumar is Executive Editor at The Quint Hindi with over 17 years of experience across

print, television, and digital journalism. He specialises in data-driven investigative journalism,

combining document analysis, field reporting, and public-interest investigations on elections,

governance, and accountability. Alongside leading editorial strategy and video-first storytelling, he continues to report extensively on politics and public policy. Before joining The Quint, he worked with Dainik Bhaskar, Asianet News, India News and Rajasthan Patrika, gaining experience across reporting, newsroom leadership and multimedia journalism.

Rowena Caronan, Head - Research & Verification, ABS-CBN (Philippines)

Rowena Caronan is the head of Research and Verification Unit at ABS-CBN News based in the Philippines. She leads a team of researchers and fact-checkers producing data analyses, in-depth stories, verified user-generated content, and research materials for digital platform and television use. She has over a decade of experience applying data techniques in investigations and reporting while also leading the development of tools for reporting. Her investigations have revealed irregularities and conflicts of interest in the allocation of public funds, election spending reports, and wealth declarations of public officials. She holds two graduate degrees, one in development economics from the University of the Philippines and another in computational and data journalism from Cardiff University, with the support of the Chevening Scholarship.

Thitima Urapeepathanapong, Senior Researcher, Rocket Media Lab (Thailand)

Thitima is a Senior Researcher at Rocket Media Lab, a data journalism organisation based in Bangkok that publishes open datasets and data-driven analysis for other journalists to build on. Her reporting covers government budgets at every level, spanning a wide range of topics from national spending down to local allocations, including how cities budget for water management. She has also produced data investigations into election patterns, including the family networks behind long-serving MPs, and has covered cultural and social issues such as the spread of hate speech online, as well as environmental stories like Bangkok's rising urban heat. Her process often starts with unstructured information — documents, records, raw public data — which she turns into structured, machine-readable datasets, then builds into journalism reports centered on public-interest reporting.