We are keen to support those in the ASAPbio Community who want to learn more about preprints or who wish to become an advocate about preprints in their communities. Interested in a deep dive into preprints? Want to learn what the buzz is about preprint review? Seeking to drive forward your own preprint initiative? Then our ASAPbio Fellows program is for you!

Applications for the 2024 Fellows program are open now and will close on the 18th March. The program will run from April to August/November 2024.

Here are five reasons why you should join the program:

  1. Learn more about preprints and how they can benefit your research
  2. Connect with others in the research community and beyond
  3. Gain confidence to drive conversations about preprints; including creating and delivering a preprint related talk
  4. Contribute to an ASAPbio initiative or develop your own preprint project. Here are some ASAPbio initiatives for 2024 which we invite Fellows to join:
  • Alternative uses of preprints: support the use of preprints beyond the traditional journal article
  • Crowd preprint review: contribute to collaborative review of preprints leading to group-authored public reviews
  • ASAPbio Local Hubs: foster local preprint communities through activities in/around Lisbon (Portugal), São Paulo (Brazil) and Pretoria (South Africa)
  • Awareness and recognition of preprints in India & Africa
  • Develop outreach campaigns (e.g. via social media) to support adoption of preprints

5. It’s fun! You’ll meet others interested in preprints and learn more about publishing, peer review & open science

Program activities

The Fellows program activities include:

Orientation

Three orientation sessions covering:

  • Overview of the program
  • Overview of the preprint landscape: context, trends, preprint servers
  • Selection and initial scoping of projects
  • Preprint review initiatives
  • Preprints in the broader publishing context
  • Handling conversations about preprints, principles and practice
  • Preprints and open science

Culture & Community track

The primary activities of the Fellows program occur as part of the culture and community track. This culminates in Fellows delivering a local talk around preprints. This track runs April-August 2024.

Project work

An additional and optional track in the Fellows program where you work in collaboration with other Fellows to help develop an ASAPbio strategic initiative. This track runs June-November 2024

‘The program was terrific. It is my first experience with such online activity well planned and executed. Indeed, it helped me understand the importance of preprints better. Moreover, the preprint review was a completely new learning for me.’  2022 ASAPbio Fellow

More information

You can find more information on the ASAPbio Fellows program Handbook. You can also check out previous Fellows and their accomplishments – 2020 Fellows, 2021 Fellows, 2023 Fellows, or read this interview with the 2022 Fellow Ruchika Bajaj. If you have any questions about the program, please contact us on Twitter @ASAPbio_ or email jonny at jonny.coates@asapbio.org.