Training, exchange, reflection:The Research Communication Project is entering round two

8 November 2022

"Für blühende Ideen" Notizblöcke der WissKomm Veranstaltung mit integrierten Samen

Photo: HRA/Sven Wied

The Hamburg Research Academy’s Research Communication Project will continue with funding from the Claussen Simon Foundation for another two years. New support services, aimed at helping participants get started in the field of research communication and deepen their existing knowledge, will complement the current program. In the second phase of funding, Dr. Fenja De Silva-Schmidt will be taking over the coordination of the project as its new advisor.

Workshop program

As in the first funding phase, the comprehensive workshop catalog remains the core component of the project. The courses focus on different facets of research communication and are aimed at beginners and advanced participants alike. They include foundation courses on topics such as clarity in public speaking and writing and more specific programs, e.g., on podcasts and visual research communication.

Second season of Spread the Word

The podcast Spread the Word and the series of online talks on research communication, designed to inspire the audience to forge their own paths into the field, are also set to continue.

Project funding

The new support fund provides financial aid to early-career researchers needing, for example, to hire technology or organize events within the scope of their own projects. All funded projects will be presented on the corresponding website.

Promoting exchange

A new network, currently in the planning stage, will complement the existing networking events by giving researchers a platform for discussing their own research communication projects and asking questions. There are also plans for an in-depth research communication workshop.

Survey on exchange formats

Would you like to talk about research communication? Please complete our brief questionnaire and tell us about your needs.

New contacts, fresh ideas

Before joining the HRA, the new project advisor, Dr. Fenja De Silva-Schmidt, used to communicate about her own academic research, study the effect of different forms of research communication, and work on the other side of research communication as a freelance science journalist. She says: “Over the past years, interest in and demand for research communication have surged—among funding providers, in the media, among researchers, and in the general public. That is why I want our project to cover many ways of learning and applying research communication—and to offer opportunities to discuss and reflect on it.”

Research Communication Project

The project seeks to encourage doctoral and early-career researchers in Hamburg to communicate their own research, help them apply the methods of research communication effectively, and provide a platform where science and society can meet. Find out more on the project page!