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Events

Latest Events

The University of VENDA TB Research Unit visits SAMRC.

 

Annual RCD Grant Holders Meeting

 

Early Career Scientist Convention (ECSC)

Skills Development Activities

Science Communication Workshop - December 2021

It is well known that the impact of researchers’ work could be amplified beyond academia through science communication. However, most scientists focus on scientific communication and do not receive formal training in communication of scientific concepts to a non-specialist audience referred to as “science communication”. In recognition of the importance of effectively communicating science, RCD organized a series of science communication skills training workshops for its scholars. These included Popular Writing, Public Speaking, Communicating Science to Younger Audiences and developing a Science Engagement Strategy workshop. The scholars who attended the workshop are funded under different RCD Scholarship Programmes and are studying at various institutions throughout the country. The workshop was conducted by Jive Media Africa. Through a combination of online facilitated group sessions, assignments, and one-on-one consultations, scholars learned how to incorporate storytelling in their writing to make their research comprehensible to a wider audience, do media interviews, and explore creative ways of communicating science. The workshops also provided the scholars with the practical tools on how to use social media platforms to grow their impact and influence. The scholars applied the tools learned at the science communication workshops and produced based on their PhD projects spark talks and posters that are written in a way that appeals to and engages a wider audience; these can be viewed below.

 

It was inspiring to see emerging researchers being at the forefront of COVID-19 research, however most of these researchers rarely engaged with the public. Moreover, there was a scarcity of researchers who could engage with the public in South African indigenous languages. It is well known that representation builds trust. With such a diverse pool of next generation of health science researchers that RCD support, RCD has a unique opportunity not only to train but to also to encourage participation of next generation scientists in science engagement activities. It is envisioned that such participation will make scientists’ research accessible to the wider public and will also contribute to developing a society that is scientific literate and can engage critically with controversial scientific topics such as in the areas of vaccines and climate change. In fact, some scholars are already engaging the public, for example Dr Wassila Jassat a Clinician-Scientist funded under SAMRC Clinician-Researcher Development Programme did a couple of interviews on the mainstream media regarding COVID-19 surveillance and Dr Garret Barnwell funded under the Bongani Mayosi National Health Scholars Programme wrote a popular piece on the impact of COVID-19 on mental health.

It is important to note that most early career scientists have Twitter and Instagram to keep in touch with other academics in their community like the South African #past3amsquad, but not many are using these platforms to share or discuss the impact of their research on social media to the audience that doesn’t have a science background. One of  the health scientist social media users is Thuli Khanyile, or @2llyfuthi or @TalkScience2lly. She uses her platform on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn to entice youth into STEM fields more recently for engaging with PhD scholars on their research topics in a fun and relatable way, for example, check out this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5tLvW_nhSc where she talks with one of RCD funded scholar Ms Anza Thiba funded under the Bongani Mayosi National Health Scholars Programme. While Ms Khanyile is a PhD scholar herself and a lecturer at Wits University she is certainly making impact beyond academia. It cannot be emphasized enough that, if the scientists want the public to apply the knowledge that the scientists have generated, they need to clearly communicate their research. Take for example the work that is done by Ms Samukeliswe Madlala, funded by the SAMRC Internship Scholarship Programme. Her team at the Non-Communicable Diseases Research Unit (NCDRU) is working on developing a pamphlet that will empower South Africans to make good choices when buying food and to identify affordable nutrient-dense food (video). This kind of research is applicable to the majority of South African population and is likely to contribute to prevention of chronic diseases. However, if this research is not clearly communicated, may not achieve its intended purpose.