Getting Australian researchers on the global stage and bringing in end-users from the beginning – Reflections by Rachael Vorwerk;
Science Communication, Education and Outreach Manager Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Optical Microcombs for Breakthrough Science (COMBS)
From arming our future politicians with scientific literacy skills, to analysing what people were saying on Twitter when COVID-19 first arrived, to working with an Indigenous community to build a school curriculum that changed to match its environment – these were just three of the 30+ topics on at the Australian Science Communicators Conference this year.
While it was impossible for me to visit every conference talk, I’ve pulled out some of my key learnings!
We need storytelling to show our Australian researchers’ international standing – Professor Peter Klinken AC
Professor Peter Klinken AC began with a keynote about the need to tell stories about our science. He stated that within 10kms of the University of Western Australia in Perth, there are half a dozen companies remotely working on mines, and more ex-NASA people compared to anywhere in Australia.
Peter Klinken said:
“No one knows we’ve got this remarkable capability. We don’t tell the story. We need to be able to tell the story, shine light on that. And then other people will say, ‘I want to be there’. Then that becomes a self-fulfilling thing. Something is happening there. I want to be there.”
The takeaway from this keynote? Storytelling is fundamental to our work as science communicators – the more we tell the stories of our research success, the more our Australian researchers’ international standing will grow!
Build champion politicians before they get into power – Dr Temilade Sesan
Local government partnering with community members, local scientists partnering with traditional rainmakers, and aspiring politicians partnering with waste management experts – Dr Temilade Sesan’s case studies provided lesson after lesson in the long-term power of the transdisciplinary approach.
Using the humble stove to investigate how sustainable energy technologies could alleviate poverty, and showing local scientists and traditional rainmakers that each of their methods were complementary and mutually beneficial, this presentation spoke about how combining the most polarising stakeholders can yield long-term results.
The transdisciplinary approach involves things like:
- joint framing of the research agenda
- co-designing methods for knowledge generation
- co-creating policy recommendations
This last point is where the true long-term change comes in.
One of the best ways to create long-term change? Build champion politicians before they get into power. Dr Sesan spoke about creating true long-term change in a waste-management project, by upskilling aspiring politicians with evidence-based knowledge in a non-partisan way.
I love this idea – just as we upskill researchers with communication skills early (hopefully!), why not do the same with politicians to help them become more scientifically literate, and a scientific ally!
End-user focused science communication – Preeti Castle
Normally as science communicators, we come in once the breakthrough has happened, ready to come in and promote it. But Preeti’s approach at the Western Australian Biodiversity Science Institute (WABSI) has flipped it, where the team has gone out talking to government, funders, industry and community about their research needs at the beginning.
They asked their stakeholders: “What are your key issues regarding biodiversity science, and what are your emerging issues over the next 10 years?” And from these answers, the research themes were developed.
The benefits of this approach? Stakeholders have buy-in from the beginning. And also that translating and transforming happens at the start of the journey so (as science communicators) we are not an afterthought.
I’m a big fan of this approach and have seen similar success in bringing in science communication in at the start of the research project. My Director Arnan Mitchell championed this approach in a previous Centre (the Integrated Photonics and Applications Centre, InPAC) I worked at, as he saw the importance of involving science communication from the beginning, particularly in understanding what our end-users need first, then creating our technology to match (this is very much the Lean Startup model!). I hope more organisations bring in science communicators from the beginning!
How do you identify and train future thought leaders to speak across boundaries? Geoff Batt, Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia
We have an enormous divide in the amount of research we are pushing out in Australia (where we rank 7th in the world!), compared to our amount of knowledge and technology outputs (where we rank 32nd in the world). Geoff Batt argued that if we can help to upskill our researchers to span the boundary between research and industry, then we may have more of a chance of our ranking lifting on our research outputs.
Could training PhD students in science communication skills help them to advance their careers? Geoff Batt’s presentation results said yes. The students say this program has helped to advance their career, and has also helped them to change the way they think about their research.
The takeaway message? Train PhD students – no matter the discipline – science communication skills and it will pay dividends.
What were people saying on Twitter when COVID-19 first arrived? Jo Savill, Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC)
The new Australian Text Analytics Platform makes human data from the internet accessible to researchers: think comments on news blogs, Reddit and Twitter.
Jo Savill talked us through an example of what people were saying on Twitter when COVID-19 first arrived, particularly as researchers wanted to gain insight into society’s response.
Take a look at how the lexicon changed over time – “quarantine”, “lockdown” and “spread” – and as Jo joked, imagine if we could see how the word “toilet paper” evolved over time!
You can read the full story (and see the graphs better too) on the Australian Research Data Commons!
Putting together a school curriculum that reflects the changing landscape: Caitlin McLeod, David Broun, Rita Lusted, Kiwirrkurra community and staff
Four times a year Kiwirrkurra campus – 700 kilometres west of Alice Springs – community members and Elders have a bushfire planning meeting with school teachers to have a say about what is happening on country to inform the curriculum for that term.
In these meetings, the community members speak about what they want their children to learn, what knowledge they’d like passed down, and whether it’s the right time – based on seasonal changes – for knowledge to be passed down.
This genuine two-way communication means that the changing landscape is reflected rapidly in the curriculum, meaning that traditional knowledge is connected closely with the curriculum.
This approach has led to many benefits, including:
- empowerment for the school, their community, and the local rangers
- reminding teachers across WA that they’re learners
- empowering the Aboriginal community and the need to get rid of misconceptions
- new research opportunities – new species have been found, sometimes by the students
- the Indigenous community reconnecting more with their Indigenous knowledge.
This case study really showed the power of having a flexible curriculum that can adapt to our changing environment – at the seasonal level – and the power of really bringing students along on the journey to make our science curriculum more accessible and engaging.
If you’re interested in the project, the documentary called ‘Tjungu Nintirringanyi Ngurra Walytjangka / A Learning Journey for all – Two-way Science Kiwirrkurra’ is on YouTube here:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JRopq3HFmps
I’m looking forward to putting these tips, frameworks and strategies into practice! There will be other presentations I’ve missed, so please feel free to condense your notes too!
Looking forward to ASC2025!
Post by Rachael Vorwerk