12 July 2024 - Symposium Science Communication @University of Twente
Communicating science effectively? New insights from science communication and science journalism research for researchers’ changing roles
As researchers, we are expected to communicate about our research to societal stakeholders. And, increasingly, we are asked to engage with a wider audience in our research. How can we do that in the best way and communicate our science effectively?
In this mini-symposium we will discuss recent research findings from science communication, science journalism and citizen science to better understand changes for researchers. We will reflect on researchers’ current and future roles within and towards society.
This mini-symposium is for researchers and practitioners who are interested in learning about and sharing insights and experiences on the dynamics around science communication, science journalism and citizen science.
Confirmed key note speakers: dr. Marta Entradas, LSE and Universidad de Lisboa; dr. Mikihito Tanaka, Waseda University; dr. Heather Handley, University of Twente
You are invited! The symposium is free to attend and open for all. You can register on this page (until Jul 03). For any questions, email dr. Anne M. Dijkstra, science communication scholar University of Twente (a.m.dijkstra@utwente.nl)
Date: 12 July 2024
Venue: Langezijds room 2101, University of Twente
Time: 11:30 – 16:30 hours
This mini-symposium is made available by the University of Twente BMS strategic research fund and NEFCA
What can you expect? An overview Tentative programme
Venue: Langezijds room 2101
Time: 11:30 – 16:30 hours
11:15 hours | Coffee and tea |
11:30 hours | Welcome by host dr. Anne M Dijkstra
Presentation of the Research Centre Science Communication and Engagement Welcome by dean faculty BMS, prof.dr. Tanya Bondarouk |
11:45 hours | Plenary presentation by dr. Marta Entradas, Iscte-Lisbon University Institute & London School of Economics
Public communication practices and motivations of scientists working in (Portuguese) Universities |
12:30 hours | How do UT researchers view science communication and engage with publics? Quiz and discussion |
13:00 hours | Lunch |
13:45 hours | Panel discussion with PhD students in Science Communication and Citizen Science Research
How research findings can support responsible fourth generation universities and researchers Moderator: dr. Heather Handley
Anouk de Jong MSc (UT) – science journalism in times of AI
Lorraine Trento Oliveira MSc (UT) – experiences with citizen science approaches in flood vulnerability mapping
Aike Vonk MSc (UU) – news frames about ocean science and plastics |
14:30 hours | Plenary presentation by prof. dr. Mikihito Tanaka, Waseda University, Tokyo.
The gap between theory and practice: Insights from Japan’s science communication struggle during Covid-19 |
15:15 hours | Coffee break |
15:30 hours | Plenary presentation by dr. Heather Handley
Design and development of a large-scale, impact-driven, geoscience communication initiative: The Earth Futures Festival |
16:00 hours | Short interview with dr. Femke Nijboer & final reflection
‘Why I decided to become a trickster scientist’ Moderator: dr. Anne M. Dijkstra |
16:30 hours | Closing and drinks |
The abstracts and bios - an overview Abstracts
Dr. Marta Entradas, Iscte-Lisbon University Institute & London School of Economics Public communication practices and motivations of scientists working in Portuguese
Universities Using data from scientists working in Portuguese universities, this paper investigates how scientists respond to demands to engage with the public. In this talk, Marta will discuss how the university infrastructure supports the work of scientists, their practices of public communicating science, and factors leading scientists to turn more to the public than others. She will discuss the role of scientists in public communication within the university landscape. |
Prof.dr. Mikihito Tanaka, Waseda University The gap between theory and practice: Insights from Japan’s science communication struggle during Covid-19 The COVID-19 pandemic was challenging for scholars and practitioners of communication. Despite the fact that scientific findings and knowledge about the virus and disease were immediately shared worldwide, the reactions of each country differed. The difference is caused by the cultural, historical, and habitual tendencies of society, though it means the various efforts were needed independently in each culture. In this report, the science and risk communication struggle will be depicted from the insights of the science advisory board of the Japanese government. |
Dr. Heather Handley, University of Twente Insights from the Earth Futures Festival on the design and development of a large-scale, impact-driven geoscience communication initiative Despite the critical role geoscience plays in building our sustainable future, the discipline is under threat. An international geoscience film festival “The Earth Futures Festival” was organised in 2022 to connect geoscience and the arts and raise international awareness of the role geoscience plays in building our sustainable future. It also provided opportunities for geoscientists to increase their science communication skills and increased the visibility of typically underrepresented groups in geoscience. This presentation takes you behind the scenes of the festival and explores the impact-focused approach implemented in the design of the festival. It provides an example of how impact-focused design can be utilised within geoscience communication initiatives and outreach. Tips for impactful science communication are provided based on the evaluation of the results. |
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Interview with dr. Femke Nijboer, by dr. Anne Dijkstra ‘Why I decide to become a trickster scientist’ For the case of healthy ageing, and using personal experiences with outreach and science communication, in this interview, it is explored what we as researchers can do when audiences do not accept or apply knowledge from scientific research. Even when it is known that that knowledge holds true there is hardly any chance that such knowledge is applied in practice. Moreover, even for a researcher who is totally aware of the best approach, the practice of healthy habits is challenging. Insights from a totally different outreach approach are shared and lessons are drawn – currently written up in a popular book – for effectiveness. |
Bios
Anouk de Jong | Anouk de Jong is a PhD candidate in science communication at the University of Twente. Her research focuses on the interactions between researchers and journalists, with case studies on COVID-19 and artificial intelligence. As part of the ENJOI project she studies the science-media relationship and the quality of science journalism. She was selected as a EUSEA Young Talent keynote speaker at the EUSEA 2024 conference. |
Anne Dijkstra | Anne Dijkstra is an assistant professor in Science Communication and Engagement at the University of Twente where she also received her PhD in Science Communication. Key words in her research are public engagement, science communication, science journalism, citizen science, responsible innovation, co-creation and risk governance. She is an elected member of the Scientific Committee of the Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) network and coordinated the PCST2023 conference. Anne studies the changing relationship between science and society from a science communication perspective and related to emerging technologies. Anne is researcher in several international projects, for example ENJOI, GoNano and SPACE4ALL. As a volunteer, she organises meetings for the Science Café Deventer which are attended by over 100 participants monthly. In 2020, the book 'Science Communication. An Introduction' was published by World Scientific Publisher. She is book editor for the WSP book series on Science Communication. |
Marta Entradas | Marta Entradas is assistant professor at ISCTE-University Institute of Lisbon and visiting fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Marta studies ongoing changes in the culture of public communication of science at the institutional and individual levels, with a focus on international comparisons. She received her PhD in Science and Technology Studies from University College London (2011), was a Marie Curie Fellow at LSE and a Fulbright Scholar at Cornel University (NY). Her work has been distinguished by Euroscience with the ‘European Young Researcher Award’ (2016) and by Ciência Viva in the ‘Mulheres na Ciência’ book. |
Heather Handley | Heather Handley is a volcanologist and has worked on some of the most active volcanoes on the planet. She is a passionate science communicator with extensive media experience and a champion for equity, diversity and inclusion. She is also interested in people’s perceptions of volcanic risk, and how we can advance our understanding of past volcanic impacts on humans and the environment by integrating volcanological and Indigenous knowledge with social sciences. Heather is driven to communicate the critical role of geoscience in our sustainable future. She is co-founder and director of the Earth Futures Festival an international film and video festival and co-author of the UNESCO-AGU book “Geoscience in Action: Advancing Sustainable Development”. Heather is a UNESCO Project Leader for IGCP 685 Geology for Sustainable Development. Heather was a Science and Technology Australia 2021-2022 Superstar of STEM. She frequently writes for The Conversation and has given more than 100 television, radio and print interviews on volcanoes. |
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Mikihito Tanaka | Mikihito Tanaka is a professor of Science and Media Studies in the Journalism Course at the Graduate School of Political Science, Waseda University, Japan. He earned his PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Tokyo, and has more than 20 years of experience as a journalist. Currently, he carries out research related to issues between science and society, mass/social media, and science journalism with using both qualitative and quantitative methods. He is a founding member and research manager of the Science Media Centre of Japan (SMCJ). He was a member of the science advisory group for COVID-19 in the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as the science/risk communication expert. |
Lorraine Trento Oliveira | Lorraine Trento Oliveira is a PhD candidate for the SPACE4ALL project at the University of Twente. Lorraine combines Earth Observation data with qualitative, rich and diverse data on floods from citizen science to capture local vulnerabilities in slums in African cities. The open-access results, which will be made freely available for local communities, will allow prioritizing risk hotspots in support of local information needs and measures. |
Aike Vonk | Aike Vonk is a PhD candidate in science communication and public engagement at the University of Utrecht. Aike focuses in her research on how scientific organizations communicate ocean climate change and ocean plastic research, using frames and narratives. Additionally, she examines which aspects of scientific press releases create news value for scientific research. She studies the success of scientific press releases in generating newspaper articles and the extent to which press releases are copied in these articles, a practice known as churnalism. Furthermore, she analyses changes that occur when science news travels from scientific institutions to newspapers, examining content changes between press releases and newspaper articles by comparing differences in frames and narratives. She hosts a popular website on plastic soup. |
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