The Public Library of Science (PLOS) and the Digital Transformations for Health Lab (DTH-Lab) have announced a strategic partnership between the organisations to increase youth participation in science to include mentorship opportunities, amplifying youth voices in scientific publishing and building a body of research in digital health citizenship with a mini-collection.
The DTH-Lab’s cohort of Regional Youth Champions (RYC) are key partners who help support young people at the local and regional level to become informed and enfranchised digital health citizens through concerted efforts that capture and reflect their diverse views and experiences. In addition to the RYC cohort, the DTH-Lab has a youth network of over 300 young people from around the world.
The partnership will include: Mentorship Opportunities – PLOS’ Digital Health editorial board to provide mentorship opportunities from experienced academics to Regional Youth Champions, including the RYC alumni network. This will include training and guidance in engaging in peer review, as well as opportunities to serve as reviewers on articles submitted to the journal after completion of the training; Amplifying Youth Voices in Scientific Publishing – PLOS will invite RYCs to review and write commentaries on papers about research that is relevant to young people’s health and well-being. This could also include a joint editorial between the DTH-Lab and PLOS Digital Health to encourage more diverse and intergenerational perspectives in scientific research; PLOS Digital Health Mini-Collection on Digital Health Citizenship – A mini-collection from young authors that will showcase commentaries and opinion pieces focused on building a body of research and diverse perspectives on the concept of digital health citizenship and its application in different contexts.
Submissions to the mini-collection will undergo the typical peer review process; and Tools and Resources for Early Career Researchers – The DTH-Lab and PLOS Digital Health will produce tools and resources specifically for young people looking to engage with scientific publishing around digital health. These may include webinars, videos and other publications on topics such as an introduction to the academic publishing world, how to review a scientific paper and how to write an impactful article.
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