More and more scientists are becoming household names in the Netherlands. During the pandemic, many virologists became regular talk show guests, while prominent researchers such as Erik Scherder, Robbert Dijkgraaf and Vincent Icke have long been familiar faces to Dutch audiences. Of course, not every scientist dreams of becoming a professional pundit, but if you want your work to reach a larger audience, clear communication is key. What is the urgency of your work? What is its relevance to society? What kind of economic impact could it have?
As a researcher, it goes without saying that you already have a great deal of experience writing scientific texts. This communicating science workshop teaches you how to explain your research in understandable language, and looks at the channels you can use to achieve this goal. You will learn how to tailor your science communication to reach a broad audience: the general public, the business community or government organisations. This workshop will call on your creativity, and you will be asked to look at your work and your field of research from multiple perspectives. You will also get hands-on experience writing your own blog, press release or opinion piece. You will learn how to communicate the societal impact of your research and how to increase the exposure of your scientific work.
Programme components Analysing your target audience: who are your readers? Learning how to use personas. Finding inspiration: how to approach your science communication from new angles. Techniques for writing appealing and creative texts. Communicating science using simple language, making complex topics more accessible. How to deal with jargon. Creating news value to ensure that people find and share your text. How to structure blogs, press releases and opinion pieces. Useful creative writing formats.