Vår 2020

GEN-8007 Communicating Science Module 2 Coping with media - 1 stp

The course is administrated by

Institutt for arktisk og marin biologi

Type of course

Multi-disciplinary course.

Course overlap

BIO-8007 Communicating Science Module 2 – Coping with media 1 stp

Course contents

Communicating science to a variety of audiences is an important skill all researchers have to learn. Whether you want to tweet about your current research project, create a podcast, give a talk to peers at a scientific conference, give an interview for the media or explain your research to a school class, science communication is part of a researchers everyday life. The course has three main components:

The use of social media to communicate your research: Twitter, blogs or podcasts are fun and effective ways to communicate your research. How can you do this and which possibilities are out there?
Media Training: insights on how to communicate your science to media. How do journalists work and how do they find a good scientific story? How do they condense complicated science into a language that is understandable to the general public?
Interview training: experience what it is like to be interviewed by a journalist armed with a video camera.

Application deadline

Registration deadline for PhD students at UiT - The Arctic University of Norway: February 1.

Application deadline for other applicants: February 1.

Admission requirements

Prerequisites: None, but it is an advantage to have own results to work with.

This course is aimed at PhD students from all scientific disciplines, but is open for applicants holding a Master's degree. Scientists, Postdocs and Master students are welcome to participate, but they will not be able to get credits.If you aim to include the credits from the course in your 30 mandatory PhD ECTS you should discuss it with both your supervisor and your faculty.

The course will be cancelled if less than six participants.

PhD students at UiT register for the course through StudentWeb. The registration for spring semester starts in the middle of December.

Other applicants apply for admission through SøknadsWeb. Application code 9305.

Non-UiT PhD students must upload a document from their university stating that they are registered PhD students. This group of applicants does not have to prove English proficiency and are exempt from semester fee.

Holders of a Master´s degree must upload a Master´s Diploma with Diploma Supplement / English translation of the diploma. Applicants from listed countries must document proficiency in English. To find out if this applies to you, see the following list:
Proficiency in English must be documented - list of countries.

For more information on accepted English proficiency tests and scores, as well as exemptions from the English proficiency tests, please see the following document:
Proficiency in english - PhD level studies

https://uit.no/Content/254419/PhD_EnglishProficiency_100913.pdfContact Ingjerd Gauslaa Nilsen at the BFE-faculty if you have troubles or questions regarding registration to the course.

Objective of the course

After the course the students should have knowledge about:

the variety of popular scientific communication arenas, their possibilities and limitations
reflecting on the role of the research community in public science communication
understanding the journalists working methods and realities
how the university can facilitate media contacts

Skills:

To be able to write a popular scientific text for publication
To be able to give an interview
To know how to package a message to the media

General competence:

To popularize research, and to adjust the message according to the audience
To communicate research in the form of a story with a clear message and structure
To be able to choose the right media for the right story, and to know how to create interest for the story

Language of instruction

English. However, the text can be written and the interview can be conducted in Norwegian.

Teaching methods

This will be an intensive 2-day course, with lectures and interview training. All participants will produce their own podcast and an video interview based on their own research.

Assessment

Written home exam. Deliver a popularized science text, either as a feature article or a blog post based on your own research. Evaluation: Pass/Fail.

Work requirement:
In order to take the exam, all students need to submit a short manuscript about their research prior to the course to be used in the video and audio training.

Re-sit exam:
There is no continuation exam. If you fail, you need to take the course again next year.