The Scientific Communication and Publishing training was timely especially in its application to the spheres am involved in on a daily basis.

The sessions that resonated the most with my work were on oral communication. Having a background of media studies and an interest in science I must admit that communication delivery from the biological and nature scientific fields to the social sciences fields is really curtailed and thus due to this miscommunication, the society lacks a holistic and effective approach to a problem. The skills I acquired would assist me in bridging this gap.

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For some scientists, communicating effectively with the public seems to come naturally. Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson currently has more than five million Twitter followers. Astronomer Carl Sagan enraptured audiences for decades as a ubiquitous cosmic sage on American televisions. And Stephen Jay Gould’s public visibility was such that he voiced an animated version of himself on “The Simpsons.” But, for most scientists, outward-facing communication is not something they’ve typically thought about much… let alone sought to cultivate.

But times change. Leaders in the scientific community are increasingly calling on their scientist colleagues to meaningfully engage with their fellow citizens. The hope is that such interactions can improve the science-society relationship at a time when we are confronting a growing list of high-stakes, high-controversy issues including climate change, synthetic biology and epigenetics.

The gauntlet has been issued, but can scientists meet it? (more…)

Science carries an anachronistic burden: a dull and under-developed communication culture. This is a general problem as science needs to be communicated widely and effectively to help solving the challenges of the future. Olle Bergman, engineer-come-communicator, suggests an more progressive mindset, based on “the two Ps”: • Inject more Passion • Learn from the Professionals. With a hands-on approach, Olle Bergman demonstrates some examples from the toolbox of professional communication and points out that a movement is emerging which is breaking the conventions of the traditional scientific culture. Olle Bergman – swedish communications consultant, public speaker & professional writer with a passion for science, language, history & people. Project leader for Crastina – a network of influencers who believe science and tech can be communicated in a more engaged and professional way. Proud Polonium Foundation Ambassador. (more…)

When I was a newspaper science editor, I approached Nobel Prize season with mixed glee and anxiety. Glee, because I knew that, without even an argument, I would get space in the paper for stories about research too arcane to make it into print the other 51 weeks of the year. Like the Academy Awards, the Nobels always get covered, and obscure topics like neutrino metamorphosis and DNA excision repair get their moment to shine, like the folks who win Oscars for sound mixing.

But I felt anxious, too, because my job – as a journalist with no science background – was to make sure those stories would be clear and comprehensible to any reader, and fascinating to more than a few. I wanted them to be stories that would make someone pick up the phone – this was back in the day when people did that – and say, “You’ve got to hear about this.” But journalists are just one leg of the sometimes shaky triangle of science communication, with scientists and the public carrying the other two sides.  (more…)

TCC trained 65 participants from various research programmes in Scientific Communication and Publishing and  Science Communication and Communicating to Non Scientists.

TCC trained researchers from University of Nairobi, Gertrude Gardens Children Hospital, Kenya Agricultural Livestock and Research Organization, AGRA Alliance Research Fellows, Maasai Mara University. The training sessions were held in Kenya and we had participants from Burkina Faso, Togo, Rwanda, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin and Senegal. (more…)

TCC trained 230 participants from  various  research programmes in Scientific Communication and Publishing, in the 4^th quarter of 2017.

TCC trained  researchers  from University of Nairobi, Gertrude Gardens Children Hospital, AGRA Alliance, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), New Kenya Cooperative Creameries and Strathmore University . (more…)

Four experts in scientific communication answer four seminal questions about the best ways to communicate science to the public.

Science communication is defined by the aptly named journal, Scientific Communication, as “…the nature of expertise, the diffusion of knowledge, and the communication of science and technology among professionals and to the public.” (more…)