Communicating Scientific Research
Simula School of Research and Innovation places research communication on the agenda, and invites PhD students in Science and Technology programs at Norwegian universities to take part in an effective workshop on communication of scientific research.
Omar Al-Khayat presenting his research project.
“Researchers must, in a precise and targeted manner, prepare and deliver their results so that the research is disseminated to the areas of society where the findings can be of use. This is why a good research education must also include the teaching of scientific writing and presentation”, says professor Are Magnus Bruaset, assistant director of the Simula School of Research and Innovation (The Simula School).
Communication as part of the research curriculum
The systematic teaching of research communication is not a high priority of Norwegian universities and university colleges. The Simula School acknowledges the necessity and demand for this kind of teaching on the PhD level, and wants to offer high quality instruction in communication of scientific research. In cooperation with Michael Alley, associate professor of engineering communication at Penn State University and an international capacity in the field, Simula has developed an effective course for their own PhD students and postdoctoral fellows.
Omar Al-Khayat is one of the PhD students at the Simula School, and he followed the course last year. “In many academic fields the focus is mainly on the research itself and not as much on how to communicate the results of your work. Good research does not get the deserved attention, due to communication that fails to be effective and targeted.” Al-Khayat’s PhD research concerns numerical simulation of deposits from submarine sediment gravity flows. “I want my research to be noticed, and the techniques I learned from Alley’s course were of great help when I presented my project at a conference in Brazil this summer,” says Al-Khayat.
National workshop
“The results from our internal courses are very good and we want to offer PhD students in Norway to the opportunity to take part in this process of learning”, says Bruaset. Simula has, in cooperation with Michael Alley and his colleague Melissa Marshall, tailored a national version of the course. PhD students in Science and Technology programs at Norwegian universities are now invited to participate in a workshop that takes place in the beginning of March. A total of 68 people will be able to enjoy the teaching.
Bruaset is convinced that the workshop will be of great value for the invited students. Based on his own observations of the courses given internally at Simula, and the experiences from Alley’s teaching at research labs, universities and in European and US industry, Bruaset knows that there is a need for this knowledge among researchers within the fields of technology and natural sciences.
The teaching is practical. Participants will learn new techniques on scientific writing and presentation and they will work in small groups acquiring the new methods for the delivery of their research. As it is of importance that researchers know how to communicate their findings to non-technical audiences as well as to their peers, a central part of the workshop is focused on communication of science to the public.
Cooperation between the industry and academia
The Simula School has succeeded in inviting partners from the industry to finance the event. These companies are convinced that the workshop contributes to strengthen the quality of the future candidates. “Precise communication and clear delivery of research results and knowledge is important elements of a researchers work. We find that the initiative taken by the Simula School will improve the abilities of the PhD students that participate”; says Ingolf Søreide, leader of StatoilHydro’s research centre in Trondheim.
StatoilHydro and Telenor are owners of the Simula School, and both companies are generously contributing to the realisation of the communication workshop.
“It is natural for us in Telenor to contribute financially to this workshop. Our own researchers that currently are undertaking PhD studies want to participate, and this initiative strengthens the good collaboration already established with Simula”, says Nils Flaarønning, vice president of strategic partners and relations in Telenor Research and Innovation.
Additional funding is also provided by The University of Oslo, IT Fornebu and the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI).
Full details and link to application form is available here. Please contact Marianne Sundet or Are Magnus Bruaset if you have any questions concerning the event.
The workshop is presented at forskning.no (in Norwegian)
