ComSciCon Michigan
@comsciconmi.bsky.social
Michigan's chapter for the premier science communication conference, ComSciCon! Applications are closed for the MI ComSciCon. See you in September!
And that's a wrap on the careers panel - thanks to all the panelists for sharing their stories!
September 30, 2023 at 7:08 PM
And that's a wrap on the careers panel - thanks to all the panelists for sharing their stories!
Last thought from Vince: making the audience a main character in the story increases the impact of your story! This is the thing he loves most about his job at the American Lung Association when talking to donors.
September 30, 2023 at 7:08 PM
Last thought from Vince: making the audience a main character in the story increases the impact of your story! This is the thing he loves most about his job at the American Lung Association when talking to donors.
To find opportunities, you can set up a job alert on LinkedIn to see what's out there. You can also find language from other job descriptions - if you accumulate these over time, you can write your own perfect job description!!
September 30, 2023 at 7:08 PM
To find opportunities, you can set up a job alert on LinkedIn to see what's out there. You can also find language from other job descriptions - if you accumulate these over time, you can write your own perfect job description!!
Kelly and Vince: Public affairs offices and crisis communications courses can also help scientists learn about how to get your message across in the media during high-stakes situations.
September 30, 2023 at 7:08 PM
Kelly and Vince: Public affairs offices and crisis communications courses can also help scientists learn about how to get your message across in the media during high-stakes situations.
Michele gives an example about this: she was a key communicator during the Flint water crisis and Legionnaire's outbreak. Stories coming out of Flint went national and the situation ended up in court.
September 30, 2023 at 7:08 PM
Michele gives an example about this: she was a key communicator during the Flint water crisis and Legionnaire's outbreak. Stories coming out of Flint went national and the situation ended up in court.
Vince says to think further about the context of what you're trying to communicate. Find out the national mood on certain topics and be able to contextualize why your science is important to know about NOW
September 30, 2023 at 7:07 PM
Vince says to think further about the context of what you're trying to communicate. Find out the national mood on certain topics and be able to contextualize why your science is important to know about NOW
Michele says you don't even have to think that far outside the lab. Many parts of a PhD (peer review, lit review, presentations) are communications intensive and offer opportunities to practice.
September 30, 2023 at 7:07 PM
Michele says you don't even have to think that far outside the lab. Many parts of a PhD (peer review, lit review, presentations) are communications intensive and offer opportunities to practice.
Where can you find opportunities outside of lab to practice sci comm? Kelly says public affairs offices are always looking for help and may let you write up your own research.
September 30, 2023 at 7:07 PM
Where can you find opportunities outside of lab to practice sci comm? Kelly says public affairs offices are always looking for help and may let you write up your own research.
Lots of other programs being recommended, including from UM and the National Academies. Vince also shouts out the book Don't Be Such a Scientist for an informal training oppportunity!
September 30, 2023 at 7:06 PM
Lots of other programs being recommended, including from UM and the National Academies. Vince also shouts out the book Don't Be Such a Scientist for an informal training oppportunity!
AAAS Science Technology and Policy fellowship is a premier program that Vince participated in after his PhD. Fellows get placed at various federal agencies for one year with the option to renew for a second.
September 30, 2023 at 7:06 PM
AAAS Science Technology and Policy fellowship is a premier program that Vince participated in after his PhD. Fellows get placed at various federal agencies for one year with the option to renew for a second.
Moderator Q: What training programs, certificates, or fellowships might exist to prep for sci comm careers?
September 30, 2023 at 7:05 PM
Moderator Q: What training programs, certificates, or fellowships might exist to prep for sci comm careers?
Vince and Michele say that academia can sometimes be resistant to PhDs pursuing careers in sci comm but the sentiments are starting to change and supports are on the way to help those interested in a sci comm career!
September 30, 2023 at 7:05 PM
Vince and Michele say that academia can sometimes be resistant to PhDs pursuing careers in sci comm but the sentiments are starting to change and supports are on the way to help those interested in a sci comm career!
Kelly: I absolutely don't have a PhD! All that's required is a love of science, and that comes through in how you're communicating. You just need to know that basics of the field that you're translating into layperson speak. If you can do that & enjoy it, you can be a sci commer!
September 30, 2023 at 7:04 PM
Kelly: I absolutely don't have a PhD! All that's required is a love of science, and that comes through in how you're communicating. You just need to know that basics of the field that you're translating into layperson speak. If you can do that & enjoy it, you can be a sci commer!
Next moderator question: how necessary is it to have a PhD to be a science communicator?
September 30, 2023 at 7:04 PM
Next moderator question: how necessary is it to have a PhD to be a science communicator?
To start the day, Kelly opens her email inbox and looks for a crisis or new research to covering coming out of UM! Vince curates a website page for the ALA&breaks down new research funded by the ALA into three sentences. He also spends time as a cultural translator between academia and other spaces.
September 30, 2023 at 7:04 PM
To start the day, Kelly opens her email inbox and looks for a crisis or new research to covering coming out of UM! Vince curates a website page for the ALA&breaks down new research funded by the ALA into three sentences. He also spends time as a cultural translator between academia and other spaces.
Starting out by introducing our panelists: Vince Tedjasaputra, Kelly Malcom, and Michele Swanson! Our panelists have a range of experiences from teaching at a large university, news rooms like Science News, National Science Foundation, and the American Lung Association!
September 30, 2023 at 7:02 PM
Starting out by introducing our panelists: Vince Tedjasaputra, Kelly Malcom, and Michele Swanson! Our panelists have a range of experiences from teaching at a large university, news rooms like Science News, National Science Foundation, and the American Lung Association!
How do you communicate difficult stories? You can to enter into conversation by using boundary objects to unite us like coffee, wine, olive oils, etc to make connections across cultures!
September 30, 2023 at 4:05 PM
How do you communicate difficult stories? You can to enter into conversation by using boundary objects to unite us like coffee, wine, olive oils, etc to make connections across cultures!
Thank you Carolyn and all of the audience members for a fantastic discussion!
September 30, 2023 at 4:01 PM
Thank you Carolyn and all of the audience members for a fantastic discussion!
Carolyn was the first person from her grad program to go into scicomm! Now her program has a scicomm class and more people are pursuing this career.
September 30, 2023 at 4:01 PM
Carolyn was the first person from her grad program to go into scicomm! Now her program has a scicomm class and more people are pursuing this career.
Note the difference between misinformation vs disinformation: disinformation is intentional, while misinformation might just be misguided. both of these are still important to address!
September 30, 2023 at 3:57 PM
Note the difference between misinformation vs disinformation: disinformation is intentional, while misinformation might just be misguided. both of these are still important to address!
She continues to share how medical advancements in the United States could be implemented to help others, while emphasizing the importance of not continuing to enforce stereotypes among people. Empathy is the key for this!
September 30, 2023 at 3:54 PM
She continues to share how medical advancements in the United States could be implemented to help others, while emphasizing the importance of not continuing to enforce stereotypes among people. Empathy is the key for this!
Reaching audiences without internet/TV, one approach is the "trusted leader" model—if you can connect with trusted leaders in these communities (like church leaders), those leaders can disseminate information & increase the chances that people will listen
September 30, 2023 at 3:51 PM
Reaching audiences without internet/TV, one approach is the "trusted leader" model—if you can connect with trusted leaders in these communities (like church leaders), those leaders can disseminate information & increase the chances that people will listen
Some powerful quotes she shared with us today: “The more we promote knowledge transfer, the more we are rich” “Inclusive science communication can be a healing catalyst for social change”
September 30, 2023 at 3:49 PM
Some powerful quotes she shared with us today: “The more we promote knowledge transfer, the more we are rich” “Inclusive science communication can be a healing catalyst for social change”
Compared to implementing fossil fuels >100 years ago, the accessibility of science has changed—today we have the internet and social media, but back then even though there were scientists who "knew" the risks of carbon emissions, who all REALLY knew?
September 30, 2023 at 3:47 PM
Compared to implementing fossil fuels >100 years ago, the accessibility of science has changed—today we have the internet and social media, but back then even though there were scientists who "knew" the risks of carbon emissions, who all REALLY knew?