July 2022

These one-day skill-building sessions aimed at science communicators will be delivered by Springer Nature, as part of the GlobalSCAPE consortium, in six different locations around the world: Spain, South Africa, Australia, India, Colombia, Japan (more information below).

Five topics relevant to science communicators from all backgrounds will be explored through a variety of formats including interactive exercises: 

• Sourcing your stories
• Understanding your audience
• Effective writing strategies
• Preparing your press release 
• Maximising external promotion

Six workshops will be delivered all around the world

GlobalSCAPE workshops will take place in six different location all around the world:

• Valencia, Spain, Universitat de València – 5 September 2022 
• Johannesburg, South Africa, Wits University – 9 September 2022 
• Bogotá, Colombia, University of The Andes – 25 October 2022 
• Tokyo, Japan, Nihonbashi life science hub – 11 November 2022 
• Pune, India, The Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics – 25 November 2022 
• Melbourne, Australia, RMIT – 30 November 2022 
  

Practical information 

Participation in these workshops is free for everyone. Attendees will have to cover their own expenses related to travel, accommodation and subsistence (lunch and snacks will be offered during the day)

GlobalSCAPE can offer financial support (up to €750) to a selected number of participants: check out our “Mobility Scheme” News. 

• Each workshop will welcome up to 30 participants.
• They will be delivered in a one-day session, from 9 AM to 5:30 PM (local time). Participants are expected to attend the whole day.
• Please note that the use of a laptop (not provided by the local host) will be required.

Workshop programme:

GlobalSCAPE: Promoting Research from Your Institution

Introductions (09:00 – 09:15)

1. Sourcing your stories (09:15 – 09:40)

This section introduces strategies for finding appropriate studies, identifying key trends, and building and nurturing relationships with scientists at your institution.

2. Understanding your audience (09:40 – 10:00)

This section discusses useful strategies in understanding your target audience using scoping and framing to ensure your story effectively engages the reader.

Activity 1 (10:00 – 10:15) Groups will identify key aspects about a specific audience (industry or general public) via scoping strategies online

Q&A (10:15 – 10:30)

Break (10:30 – 10:45)

3. Effective writing strategies (10:45–11:45)

This section discusses the importance of logical flow and structure in a news story and ways to improve the understanding of scientific research via improving readability to non-specialists.

Activity 2 (11:45 – 12:00) Groups will improve a passage of academic writing to make it easier to understand for a non-specialist audience

Q&A (12:00 – 12:15)

Lunch (12:15 – 13:15) 

4. Preparing your press release (13:15–14:45)

This section implements a useful strategy to ensure the information given by the researcher is structured in a compelling manner for the reader in a press release.

Activity 3 (14:45 – 15:15) Attendees will improve their pre-written press release based on the strategies learned during the workshop

Q&A (15:15 – 15:30)

Break (15:30 – 15:45)

5. Maximizing external promotion (15:45–16:45)

This section reviews various strategies to promote research from the institution, such as engaging with the media, promoting on social media, and leveraging institutional websites.

Activity 4 (16:45 – 17:00) Attendees will prepare a mock social media post about a research study from their institution.

Final Q&A (17:00 – 17:30)

Our trainers

(Workshops in Spain, South Africa, Australia and Japan)

Dr. Jeffrey Robens is Senior Editorial Development Manager at Nature Research and is responsible for conducting the Nature Research Academies—training workshops to improve publication output worldwide. He has strong scientific qualifications with 20 years of academic experience and numerous publications and awards. He received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and then worked at premier research institutes in Singapore and Japan, including RIKEN and Kyoto University. Since leaving academia in 2012, he has conducted over 250 academic training workshops across Asia and the Middle East to help researchers improve their publication quality and impact.

(Workshop in Colombia)

Dr Harry Shirley is an Editorial Development Manager at Nature Research, and specialises in training on Scientific Writing and Publishing. He has a particular interest in Open Access publishing and publishing innovations. Although his background is Chemistry he has experience in delivering training to researchers from a range of disciplines. Harry holds a   PhD in Chemistry from Queen Mary’s, the University of London, which he followed by Postdoctoral study at the University of Auckland in New Zealand followed by the University of Oxford. Harry is experienced in delivering training both face to face and virtually, and has an engaging presentation style.

(Workshop in India)

Subhra Priyadarshini is Chief Editor at Nature India. After a bachelor’s degree in zoology from the Odisha University of Agriculture Technology, she majored in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations from Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, India. Subhra has been on the programme and selection committees of the World Conference of Science Journalists and is a member of many national and international committees on science communication, science policy, environment and healthcare.