SEB Bulletin July 2006 - SEB Postgraduate Science Communication Bursary Reports 2006
I had been looking for openings into the Science Communication sector for sometime and on this occasion the logistics meant that I could act on my ambition: because I was reaching the end of a postdoc position it was the perfect time to apply for science communication opportunities and, luckily, I was one of two successful applicants chosen to receive a bursary to train as the SEB Press Officer. This was fantastic for me because one of the most common reasons I had been given for missing out on press officer positions was, “We offered the position to someone with more experience”. I hoped this bursary would be my ‘foot in the media door’ and ‘step up the PR ladder’.
The month was extremely varied and provided many insights into press office work. After reading +500 abstracts and deciding – with wise pointers from Sarah Blackford – on newsworthy topics, we started writing our snappy press releases. To keep all parties happy, we constantly liaised with scientists – this was an aspect of the experience that I really enjoyed because of the constant exposure to diverse and stimulating scientific subjects. The week prior to the conference was the most hectic: finalising releases, chasing academics, contacting and responding to journalists and posting the releases onto web-based alert systems proved to be very educational and required on-the-job learning.
The culmination of the training period and a measure of our press success was the Annual Main Meeting. We hoped desperately that Tony Blair wouldn’t resign and steal the media limelight – a sign that we were truly getting into our Press Officer roles! The interest was intense and sustained from all types of media and from all areas of the world, which was useful for us in terms of gaining a range of skills. I was a little surprised at the lack of British media interest considering that the conference was on home-turf. The high point for me was the feeling that because of the work we’d put in, some person or animal would benefit from the dissemination of scientific knowledge who may not otherwise have done, while the low point was when one of the SEB scientists was scooped by a sick swan in Scotland for space in a national newspaper.
I thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience and feel that I am much more able to appreciate the role that a press officer plays in science communication. The achievements of the month (perhaps you noticed the SEB mentioned in New Scientist and BBC Wildlife Magazine, in the Metro or on the Discovery Channel?) were only possible with the patience and guidance of Sarah Blackford and with the funding provided by the SEB. Thank you!
Lucy Moore
Having reached the end of a post-doc at the John Innes Centre (JIC), I faced the common dilemma of many researchers as to “what next?” At JIC I had been able to take part in a variety of science communication activities and realised this was the direction I wanted to take, but was unable to find a job because of my limited experience. Being awarded one of the science communication bursaries by the SEB was therefore a fantastic opportunity to put my skills into practice and work for four weeks as a Press Officer in the run-up to the Annual Meeting in Canterbury.
Lucy and I spent three weeks in the SEB office at Lancaster University preparing press releases from the abstracts we thought would be “newsworthy”, contacting the scientists involved in the research and making sure they were happy with what we had written. I particularly enjoyed learning about the diverse research projects that members of the SEB are working on. It struck me how valuable these interdisciplinary conferences run by the SEB are – rarely do you get such a varied group of biologists together in one place – and it is often through discussions between scientists of different disciplines that new ideas and collaborations are formed.
The highlight of the placement was the week spent at the conference in Canterbury. We got the opportunity to meet the scientists with whom we had been working on the press releases, and to arrange interviews with several international radio stations as well as answering enquiries from journalists across the globe. It was incredibly satisfying to see our stories being picked up by the media; almost two months later we are still getting enquiries!
SEB for giving me this opportunity. I’ve really enjoyed working as a Press Officer for the SEB and it’s helped me realise that not all science jobs are at the bench.
Vicky Just
