eNews

#04 2024

SAEON’s Graduate Student Network and Project 19 collaborate on science communication programme

By Conor Eastment, GSN steering committee member

SAEON’s Graduate Student Network (GSN) and Project 19 have joined forces to deliver a science communication programme in the lead-up to the 2024 NRF-SAEON GSN Indibano. This initiative, led by Tiago Garcia, a science communication officer from Project 19 and +ATLANTIC, along with the GSN steering committee and SAEON’s science engagement team, aims to enhance the communication skills of master’s and PhD early career researchers attending the Indibano.

The South African postgraduate students are collaborating in groups to create science communication pieces that will be presented at the Indibano. Each group has selected a paper authored by SAEON scientists as the foundation for their projects. The chosen papers are:

  1. Wilcox et al., 2020. “Rapid recovery of ecosystem function following extreme drought in a South African savanna grassland.”
  2. Cotiyane-Pondo et al., 2020. “Austral winter marine epilithic diatoms: Community composition and distribution on intertidal rocky substrate around the coast of South Africa.”
  3. Burkepile et al., 2020. “Shared Insights Across the Ecology of Coral Reefs and African Savannas: Are Parrotfish Wet Wildebeest?”
  4. Schmitt et al., 2022. “Integrating herbivore assemblages and woody plant cover in an African savanna to reveal how herbivores respond to ecosystem management.”
  5. Feig et al., 2019. “Assessment of changes in concentrations of selected criteria pollutants in the Vaal and Highveld Priority Areas.”

The first science communication training session took place on August 25, involving 25 Indibano delegates and facilitators. The session introduced the importance and context of science communication, as well as the underlying theories. Attendees realised that science achieves its full potential when it considers its target audience, the relevance of the science to that audience, and the mediums through which the audience consumes information.

Effective science communication fosters public engagement, education and trust, aids policy implementation, supports funding and fulfils the ethical responsibility of researchers.

Developing critical communication skills 

Science communication training is not commonly offered in universities today, making this programme a highly valuable opportunity for early career researchers. In the weeks leading up to the Indibano, researcher groups will continue meeting and preparing their communication pieces.

Additional feedback and training sessions will be held as the projects progress, allowing researchers to share ideas and receive expert input. These efforts are expected to result in exciting communication pieces, which will be a highlight of the NRF-SAEON GSN 2024 Indibano.

The GSN committee extend our gratitude to Project 19, +ATLANTIC and the SAEON science engagement team for providing this exciting opportunity to develop critical communication skills among early career researchers.