Final call for young reporting talent: become a U-Media Ambassador at Rhine-Ruhr 2025!

Do you love turning impassioned words into engaging stories? Are you confident asking questions of a euphoric fencer - or a distraught diver? And could you paint the picture of a pulsating water polo final? If you can answer ‘yes’ to these questions, a place among the media at one of the world’s biggest multi-sport events could be yours! That’s because applications are now open for the U-Media Ambassadors programme of the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games.

Part of the broader Young Sports Media Talents project, the Organising Committee is seeking 12 aspiring story-tellers to help us shape our event coverage alongside the FISU Young Reporters this summer. Half of this number will be nationals of Germany, and the other six drawn from other EU member states or from those third countries associated to the Erasmus+ Programme.

“We’re absolutely delighted to be launching our final phase of applications to our pioneering media talents project,” Maksim Berdnikov, the media services manager for the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU Games, says. “We’re grateful to the European Union and its support through Erasmus+, and we know that the U-Media Ambassadors will help us to deliver an outstanding FISU Games for the world’s media this July.”

‘Huge opportunity’

Successful applicants will be sports-mad, enthusiastic and committed, and aged between 18 and 25 on 1 June 2025.

In return for an unwavering commitment, the project offers comprehensive training, the support of expert mentors, free accommodation, and a unique window on the world’s best student-athletes during the FISU Games this summer.

“I would recommend 100% to apply,” Louis Gilles, a former young reporter at the Chengdu 2021 and Lake Placid 2023 FISU Games, says. “It’s a huge opportunity to get as close as you can to professional athletes, but also to some top-notch media professionals in their field.”

Thanks to the Erasmus+ funding, all training materials for the project are being made open source thanks to an educational platform called 'U-Media', which will launch in the coming weeks.

“In contrast to limiting the access to only selected participants, this time all interested students will be able to benefit from the open-source materials such as sports glossaries and practical guidelines,” Berdnikov says.

“And in order to deliver a comprehensive training programme, we have established numerous partnerships with industry experts, universities, and National University Sports Federations.”

With so much on offer, why not take this chance to gain a foothold on the exhilarating rock face of global sports media coverage?

If you think you have what it takes, apply here before 14 April.