Oct 20, 2020

Training for journalists and tech talents under one umbrella / Niddal Salah-Eldin to become Chairwoman of the Management Board at the FreeTech Academy from September 2021 / Scholarships awarded for software developers in cooperation with CODE University of Applied Sciences / FreeTech Academy to act as a think tank Subscribe Axel Springer launches the “FreeTech – Axel Springer Academy of Journalism and Technology”, hereby seeking to expand the company’s own excellence in technology in the long-term, to link journalism and technology in a unique manner and to lay the foundations for a close collaboration between journalists and tech experts. As the first institution of its kind, the FreeTech Academy closely intertwines the training of both journalists and tech talents under one umbrella. As part of this, the Axel Springer Academy is to be integrated into the new organization and supplemented by a technology training program. Furthermore, in a first step the FreeTech Academy will be cooperating with the CODE University of Applied Sciences in Berlin. While CODE will be in charge of the academic curriculum as part of the Bachelor’s degrees in Software Engineering, Interaction Design and Product Management, the FreeTech Academy will launch an accompanying scholarship program. This will see students working with young journalists from the very beginning on joint projects from the field. The tech experts will also be receiving intense on-the-job training in the various editorial offices and companies of Axel Springer, while both groups will be taking part in a series of events such as the “Freedom Forum” dealing with the subject of freedom, which is central to Axel Springer. The first twelve scholarship holders already began their training at the FreeTech Academy in September 2020. Remit of the FreeTech Academy is also to anchor technology matters even more firmly in training programs at Axel Springer enabling as many employees as possible to intensify their technology skills and to apply these at work. The FreeTech Academy will also act as a think tank and enable research projects at the interface of technology, journalism and freedom. In the context of the FreeTech Academy’s founding, Niddal Salah-Eldin will return to Axel Springer in September 2021 to take on the role of Chairwoman of the Management Board of the FreeTech Academy. In her function as Managing Director, she will be reporting directly to Mathias Döpfner. Salah-Eldin already worked at Axel Springer between December 2014 and May 2019, among other things as Head of Social Media and Director Digital Innovation for WELT, before transferring to dpa in May 2019 as Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Director Product and Innovation. Mathias Döpfner, CEO Axel Springer SE: “With the FreeTech Academy, we are aiming to build a bridge between journalism, technology and freedom. In future, only those media companies will be successful that enable real and deeply integrated cooperation between developers and journalists, thus attracting both excellent journalists and the most creative talents in technology to join their ranks. There is hardly anyone in the German media sector who represents the link between technology and journalism the way Niddal Salah-Eldin does, which makes her the perfect fit for the FreeTech Academy. I am delighted that she will be returning to Axel Springer to take on this important task.” Niddal Salah-Eldin, from September 2021 Managing Director and Chairperson of the Managing Board of the Freetech Academy, added, “Technology is a central driver of innovation and transformation. It can considerably change and improve the way journalists research and report their content, and how they produce and distribute it. This will only come to bear, however, if journalism and technology cease to exist alongside one another and, instead, are brought together and closely interwoven. That is vital to success, because it is at this interface that the future will play out. And that is precisely what we want to achieve at Axel Springer with the FreeTech Academy. I am looking forward to designing this interdisciplinary future with a wonderful team!” Niddal Salah-Eldin Bente Zerrahn Ulrich Schmitz and Marc Thomas Spahl will become further Board members. Also, they will be managing the FreeTech Academy as its founding duo until September 2021. Bente Zerrahn, who has been working for Axel Springer in the newly created post of Innovation Catalyst since September 2020, will also be part of the team of the FreeTech Academy. As the holder of a doctorate in Engineering, Schmitz brings with him the experience he has gained from numerous innovation projects and the setting up of a venture network for Axel Springer. He will also remain Managing Director of Axel Springer Digital Ventures. Ulrich Schmitz said, “The guiding principle of Axel Springer is ‘We empower free decisions.’ And we have set up the FreeTech Academy to impart the values and tools needed to make that reality. We will be getting underway like a start-up within the company working with an excellent team.” As before, Marc Thomas Spahl is responsible for the publishing house’s journalism training course. Under his management, the Axel Springer Academy has advanced to become the most progressive journalism school in the German-speaking region and has received many accolades for its digital projects, among these the Grimme Online Award and the Henri Nannen Prize. Marc Thomas Spahl had this to say: “After we completely reinvented ourselves around ten years ago, we are now taking another step ahead of the fray by revolutionizing our journalist training program. Integrated curricula and innovative projects will turn our group of young journalists and techies into a powerful team, while establishing a shared mindset for progress in all things digital.” Subscribe