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Science Communication Internship - Module 3 | |||
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From 23 April to 9 May 2007, two out of the four interns participated
in Module 3 of the Med-Vet-Net Science Communication Internship. Elizabeth Marier, from VLA in UK, and Pawel Stefanoff, from PZH in Poland, continued on from the Modules 1 and 2 training to appreciate that communicating science with different stakeholders (such as industry, government, non-government organizations, public and school children) requires different approaches. | |||
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The two and a half week course – ‘Influencing Stakeholders’ was devised by the Med-Vet-Net Communications Unit, Teresa Belcher and Jennie Drew. The course involved many visits and discussions with stakeholders, a mixture of in-house tuition and external companies providing expert training, as well as a three-day trip to Brussels. The interns were first introduced to how the European Union is structured and works, and gained an overview of the many different types of stakeholders with which Med-Vet-Net must liaise. They were shown how to write a Briefing Paper aimed at a policy maker and then continued to prepare a brief of their research for the upcoming meeting with a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in Brussels. They were also shown the importance of evaluating communication activities, and then were sent an exercise to design a questionnaire for delegates at the upcoming Med-Vet-Net Annual Scientific Meeting in Lucca, Italy, at the end of June. On the first Thursday, we travelled to London to meet radio and television producer Ros Smith at the BBC World Service. Ros has worked extensively with communicating science to children and teenagers and used to broadcast ‘The Big Toe Radio Show’. We then watched a live production of the radio broadcast ‘Science in Action’ and spoke to the producers about the work and research that is necessary to produce the show. On the first Friday we had a packed day of visits in Oxford and Surrey. First we met with Dr David Brooks, Chief Executive of biotech company Oxitec. Oxitec Ltd is developing effective and environment-friendly techniques to control insect pests that are important to agriculture and public health. Their technology, which is based on advances in molecular biology and genetics at Oxford University, builds on well-established sterile insect techniques. David was interested in getting our opinion and input into how to communicate this new technology to the public. We then attended at PEST (Public Engagement of Science and Technology) meeting at Oxford. This was the start-up meeting for the group who consisted of a vast background of workers in science, technology, research and communication. Lastly, we travelled to Surrey to visit Peter Wareing at Leatherhead Foods International where we discussed risk and communication from the viewpoint of the food industry. The second week began with a course in Event Management, providing an initial, all-round grounding in managing a successful event. We then travelled to London to visit Professor Nigel Poole to talk about his external affairs and communication experience with the agricultural industry. In particular he told about his experience with the launch of the first genetically modified tomato paste, ten years ago. Following this he gave us a brief overview of how, during the Victorian Era, the future of London was changed by an improvement in the understanding of microbiology when Microbiologist John Snow traced the source of cholera to a water pump that was causing the epidemic. The following day we were back in London to visit the Science Museum and talk to its staff about their education programme and to sit in on a school show about ‘bubbles’, which aimed to introduce some basics ideas of physics and chemistry to young children. We then spoke to Antenna exhibit designer Natasha Waterson about how exhibits ideas are formulated, researched and created and how they are targeted to certain audiences. Antenna is a constantly updated series of exhibitions devoted to science news, including breaking stories, and we discussed ideas of how the work of Med-Vet-Net could be included in future exhibits. Back in the office, the interns undertook a course in proposal writing with a particular emphasis on writing proposals for the European Union. On the last Friday, we had another packed day. First we visited Dr Helen Ferrier at the National Farmer’s Union to learn about how they communicate to their members and influence policy makers. This was followed by a visit to Aston University to talk to Microbiologist Dr Anthony Hilton about his recent appearance in the BBC television science series ‘Grime Scene Investigation’, and also to Hannah Brookes from the University’s media team to find out how the university communicates its research to the media and external funders. On Sunday we boarded the Eurostar to travel to Brussels. Here we visited the offices of European SchoolsNet, to talk about their European science education portals for teaching, learning and collaboration and how this can bring about change in the way pupils learn, and become interested in, science. We also met with Dr Olivier Espeisse, the European Corporate Affairs Manager for Eli Lilly/Elanco. We discussed communications in the veterinary pharmaceutical industry and the extensive work he does lobbying with relevant bodies in Brussels. Later we met with Tim Hall (Head of Unit) and Jean-Charles Cavitte (Med-Vet-Net Project Officer) at the European Commission. On the final day we were lucky enough to visit the European Parliament for a brief tour. Unfortunately, our appointment with Robert Sturdy MEP had to be cancelled last-minute, but his staff were helpful in looking after us and introducing us to two other English MEPs, Martin Callanan and Roger Helmer. At the conclusion of this Module, the interns definitely felt they had a greater understanding of the different stakeholders, their needs and their preferred modes of communication. Module Four – ‘Virtual Communications’ will run slightly later than first planned, at the end of Summer. Teresa Belcher |
or early in 2008. There are also places available to external paying participants. | ||
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Page Contact: Jennie Drew - Last modified: 2007-06-04 |
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