Become an editor
About Exploring Economics
The economic problems of the present are complex and diverse - but the answers of economics are often truncated and one-dimensional. Disappointed by the lack of pluralism and innovation in economics, students and young academics from the network Plural Economics developed the e-learning platform Exploring Economics. The virtual university for pluralism in economics aims to make the diversity of economic thinking visible. Exploring Economics thus responds to the international call by students and teachers for a fundamental renewal of economics after the global economic and financial crisis of 2007/2008 and in view of the ecological crisis. By changing economic thinking, we want to contribute to a transformation towards a socially and ecologically sustainable economy.
The e-learning platform offers an introduction to plural economics in four languages in the form of infographics and detailed introductory articles (Orientate), collects materials available online such as videos, podcasts, texts and dossiers on economic topics (Discover) and lists online courses and books taking place worldwide (Study). We currently have around 27,000 visitors per month who access around 1500 learning materials.
The beating heart of this platform is our dynamic editor team. We consist of students, young scholars and professionals from more than 20 countries worldwide. Here we make material decisions for the platform, discuss content and work on various projects inside and around the website. To support our processes and widen our perspective, we are looking for motivated people who are interested to contribute and take part in our onboarding programme: The Exploring Economics Experience
What we expect
- Interest in plural and heterodox economics (including complexity economics, evolutionary, ecological, feminist, post-Keynesian or Marxist approaches) and in economic topics and issues in general.
- Interest in the topics of e-learning and e-teaching and in the further development of the Exploring Economics website.
- Commitment to join our editorial team for at least 4 months and invest 1-3 hours per week.
What will you do
- Suggesting new material for our open-access and bottom-up e-learning platform.
- Review material suggestions, write summaries and academic commentaries.
- Edit and produce new material.
What we offer
- We introduce you to our internal working groups that focus on topics or deal with certain aspects of website development and maintenance.
- You become part of our international online community and join input sessions and editor meetings.
- You can receive a certificate after completing the experience to confirm your voluntary commitment.
- As a member of the editorial team, you will publish summaries and commentaries under your name on the website (see for example here) and you are listed on our team page.
How to apply?
- Fill out the application form and tell us something about your background, expertise and your motivation to join the Exploring Economics Editorial Team (~150 words). You can apply in English, French and Spanish language.
- The Exploring Economics Experience starts on the 07th of November 2021 and ends on the 28th of February 2022. After the end of the programme you have the possibility to become an Senior Editor.
- You can apply until the 24th of October 2021.
The tasks of an editor
There are four main tasks for the editorial team
Review suggested material
You review the new content, which has been suggested via the online form, and either modify, reject it or publish it. The material should be relevant for EE (see here for our guidelines on the academic standards)
Search for new content
Editors can also look for new content themselves just as persons active on level A "Material Scout" do.
Keep the platform updated
Since the platform is online since December 2016, some of our linked content could be expired or irrelevant by now.
You check and note whether the content was
- correctly uploaded,
- still relevant,
- duplicative,
- assigned correctly,
- has an incomplete summary
- has an editor comment or
- if all links are still working.
Participate in editorial discussions
The editor group provides a space for discussion and experience exchange on challenges and best practice tips for scouting new material.
This could be e.g. which platforms and other techniques you are using for scouting material, what type of contributions are especially relevant or missing in the discover section, or how you could strategically expand the scope and depth of the material on EE. We encourage and aim to support inter-disciplinary and multi-paradigmatic work. Meaning that you should feel encouraged to work together on specific material submissions.
There should be an open-minded and supportive way of sharing knowledge, expertise and opinions so that each editor can learn new aspects of the respective perspective or topic.
Participation possibilites
You can't commit to being a fixed member of the editorial team? No problem! We have other options for you to join the Exploring Economics community!
To make this more understandable, we have sorted the participation possibilities by level:
Level A: Material scout
The time necessary: 1-5 hours per month
As a material scout, you are feeding the discover and study section with videos, podcasts, online courses and other teaching material. You search, classify, summarize and comment new content, which is published with your name on the website. You can focus on a specific school of thought or topic of your interest that you want to strengthen on Exploring Economics. Find more information on what kind of material Exploring Economics features here.
Level B: Editorial team member
The time necessary: 1-3 hours per week
On Level B, you join our editorial team for a certain period of time. See the box above for further descriptions. If you want to suggest new material for EE on a regular basis and deepen your knowledge in a certain school of thought or economic issue, you should join our editorial team. In our editorial team, you will work together with interested students, PhDs and professionals to discuss material suggestions and post it on the platform and our social media channels. Additionally, in the regular online meeting of all editors, you will discuss applications for new material that is supposed to be produced for Exploring Economics.
Level C: Material producer
The time necessary: depending on the project, at least 3 hours per week
You can produce essays, dossiers, wiki-articles or creative content and publish your material under your name on Exploring Economics. As in journal publishing, we conduct a professional review process – however, your text will be freely available on our e-learning platform and serve as learning material for our users. Find more information here.
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