Virtual Open Events
To learn more about the programme and the student experience, and to ask any questions you may have, join us for our virtual open events. To register, follow these links:
Thursday 18 March 2021 at 1pm GMT
Who is the course designed for?
The Postgraduate Certificate in Practical Science Communication is designed to support and develop the skills of scientists and other technical professionals who wish to communicate effectively with the wider public, as well as with other organisations within their community such as funders, learned societies, investors and businesses.
Aims of the programme
The programme aims to:
- provide students with theoretical, academic and practical tools to support the knowledge and understanding they will need to become an effective and engaging communicator. The programme will help students to enhance the ethical and critical awareness they will need to identify the importance, relevance, and risks of science communication from a professional perspective.
- enable students to make value-based judgements combining discipline-specific factors, academic theory, and practical considerations, to ensure they are well equipped to develop and deliver science communication that is culturally sensitive and appropriate to particular audiences
- develop individual science communicators’ ability to reflect critically on their own and others’ work, in the context of not only audience needs but also those of hosts, funders and local policy.
Teaching and learning
The course is delivered using a variety of learning styles, combining interactive face-to-face learning with online delivery. Seminars, practical demonstrations, workshops, problem-based learning and small group working will be delivered and facilitated by experts in the field of science-related communication and engagement. Learning on this programme is highly experiential, recognising both the practical nature and application of science communication, and that students learn from both what is taught and how it is being taught.
Online resources, provided through a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), draw on specific science communication topics, case studies, and relevant and appropriate additional resources. Understanding of academic theory and its practical application is facilitated through discussions and critical appraisals with peers and with tutors.
The Postgraduate Certificate takes one year and comprises three modules. Across the year there are 13 face-to-face taught study days, as well as on-line activity, independent study and assignments.
Please note that dates are provisional and may be subject to change.
Unit 1: The fundamentals of practical science communication: 20 - 22 October 2021
The course will begin with an in-depth introduction to the academic background to science communication and effective engagement. Using case studies and topical examples, it will cover areas such as: why we communicate science, and whose interests are being furthered; understanding and engaging audiences; identifying what to communicate and how best to do this; the role and practices of the mass media; the ethics of science communication; and the importance and techniques of effective evaluation. Students will gain a broad perspective on science communication as well as critical insights into the processes, suitability and effectiveness of a range of communication and engagement strategies.
As students learn to think critically about science communication, and begin to apply this learning to their own work, they will compile a portfolio that acts as both a personal learning resource, and a record of achievement. This portfolio will be assessed as part of the programme overall.
Unit 2: The art of practical science communication: 13 - 14 January, 3 - 4 February and 10 - 11 March 2022
This second module considers specific media and explores their potential and constraints. Students will learn from expert practitioners about a wide range of communication and engagement techniques including writing, social media, visual media and broadcasting. Students will develop a detailed and in-depth understanding of the strengths, pitfalls and relevance of the media they study for achieving particular communication outcomes.
Unit 3: Designing and delivering practical science communication: 25 April, 9 May, 6 June and 20 June 2022
By this stage of the course, students are ready to tackle the practical challenges of module 3. Focusing on their preferred topics and media, students will propose, deliver and evaluate a science communication product or event, considering not only its content and audience, but also the broader context of implementation, including funding and financial planning, risk assessment, competition from other agencies and events, publicity, regulation (for example, when working with vulnerable people) and local policy (such as enhancing diversity).
Please note that these dates are provisional.
Course Director
Dr Jane Gregory developed science communication courses for Imperial College in the early 1990s, and since then has set up and taught UG and PG courses at Birkbeck, UCL (where she was appointed Reader in Science and Technology Studies) and, most recently, Manchester University. She has published on the role of public science communication in the development of scientific ideas, and on the global political and economic contexts for science communication. Jane has also worked as a book editor in science publishing, and for seven years developed exhibition texts and gallery guides for the Science Museum, London.