Workshop “Building Bridges: Science Communication between research and practice“
Photos: RMU Office
Around 25 practitioners and researchers from the field of science communication came together for the workshop “Building Bridges: Science Communication between research and practice“, organized by WissKom Academy and the Rhine-Main Universities.
In a full-day workshop, participants identified the barriers between research and practice in science communication and jointly developed ideas how these barriers can be removed and how bridges can be built between research and practice.
The participants stressed the importance of new formats and spaces to institutionalize science communication in the long-term and to further build trust within the institutions. Peer learning approaches, ambassador programs and the ongoing cultivation of contacts were among the key approaches emphasized.
Another topic of discussion was the challenge to remove existing structural barriers, as science communication and existing exchange formats still frequently reach the same target groups. New access points are to be established at “third-party locations” to address new target groups and to open the dialogue between science and society to a broader audience.
All the concepts developed always focused on exchange and networking between various stakeholder groups to foster a better understanding between the groups – among scientists, other communicators, institutions or society.
Evaluation formed another key topic. The significance of partners for evaluation and accompanying research was emphasized in view of dwindling resources. In order to continue to develop successful science communication in the long term, results need to be shared even more extensively in the future and made accessible to everyone.
The workshop profited strongly from the participants’ diverse backgrounds – ranging from universities and universities of applied sciences to non-university research organizations to radio stations and agencies. “This broad range emphasizes that science communication spans all subject matters and disciplines and illustrates the significance of exchange and networking”, stresses Dr. Aglaia Schieke, coordinator at WissKom Academy who organized the workshop together with Prof. Dr. Elena, junior professor for science communication at JGU and Dr. Patrick Honecker, CCO at TU Darmstadt. “Once again, this is a strong signal that the Rhine-Main Universities and its network partners in the region are jointly developing solutions for today’s big questions”, add Honecker and Link.
The workshop was aimed primarily at researchers and practitioners in the early stages of the career, with the goal of creating an innovative space to meet. Participants praised the direct exchange between science and practice to be particularly beneficial to their future work. The workshop itself was considered a valuable starting point for establishing a growing network.
The workshop was organized jointly by the Rhine-Main Universities and WissKom Academy at Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur | Mainz and funded as part of WissKom Academy and by FAZIT Stiftung.
