Scientific researchers at Flinders are being encouraged to register with Scimex, a new online portal that connects scientists with journalists.

An initiative of the Australian Science Media Centre, Scimex was launched at Flinders University Victoria Square last week. It brings together the latest embargoed research news, multimedia, expert profiles, and story ideas from scientists, for journalists.

Vetted journalists can make direct contact with registered experts and media officers on Scimex. With this in mind, experts who are keen to engage with the media are invited to have a profile and pitch stories through the portal.

Upon registering on Scimex, experts can edit their profile, enter story pitch ideas for vetted journalists, and upload images, footage and infographics. There is also a section where experts can upload YouTube videos of themselves or their research, as well as news clips and their Twitter feed, to give journalists an idea of their communication skills. Researchers can register now via this link.

Flinders Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor David Day praised Scimex as a versatile tool that would assist university researchers in communicating their research to the wider community.

“High quality scientific research deserves the widest possible audience, and the portal offers an excellent resource for journalists who transmit science news, as well as being an effective path to public exposure for important research.”

So far, more than 1300 journalists have registered to use the website’s services, and more than 3,000 scientists have added their profiles.