For the Michaelmas term of the 2020-2021 Academic Year this course is being taught remotely. This means there will be no face-to-face teaching and you will not need to be present in person in Cambridge. The course content will be delivered, and the learning outcomes met, through the use of video-based teaching platforms and a dedicated course Virtual Learning Environment. Face-to-face teaching will resume when it is safe and possible to do so.
Who is the course designed for?
The programme aims to develop individual science communicators who are able to adopt an informed, responsive, discipline relevant and critically reflective approach to the practical delivery of science communication at a high level.
Aims of the programme
- Provide professionally relevant teaching and learning in the theory, knowledge and skills that underpin, and are at the forefront of, science communication and engagement.
- Develop and create skilled science communicators with the necessary expertise and understanding to engage in and deliver well-informed high-quality science communication activities appropriate to the needs of their discipline and their audience.
- Promote a comprehensive understanding of the practical and ethical considerations relevant to science communication.
- Provide students with the theoretical knowledge and the practical opportunity to apply their learning in a work-relevant and practical manner through the design, delivery and evaluation of a specific science communication or engagement activity.
- Develop in students the judgement, confidence and responsibility that will enable them to be proactive, responsible and discriminating in their interventions at a high level in their profession.
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 Diploma takes two years and comprises six modules. Across the year there are 13 taught study days, as well as on-line activity, independent study and assignments. The study days are normally delivered face-to-face at Madingley Hall, Cambridge but this year the course will start by being taught remotely, with face-to-face teaching returning when the situation becomes viable and safe to do so. The dates of the study days are given below.
Unit 1: The fundamentals of practical science communication: Tuesday evenings - 22 and 29 September, 6, 20, 27 and October, 3 and 17 Nov 2020 (please note that these dates are provisional)
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: 14 and 15 January 2021, 4 and 5 February 2021 and 11 and 12 March 2021 (please note that these dates are provisional)
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: 19 April 2021, 10 May 2021, 7 June 2021 and 21 June 2021 (please note that these dates are provisional)
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).
Unit 4: Knowledge, Authority and Expertise: October 2021 (dates to be confirmed)
This unit draws on the literature from the sociology of science to explore a range of perspectives on science as a form of knowledge, as a group of methods and as a social institution. In particular, it asks how science commands respect as expertise, and explores what happens if this respect is withheld. Thus the unit explores, at a fundamental level, the relationships between science, politics and publics in terms of authority, trust, and public culture.
Unit 5: Contexts and issues in science communication: January - March 2022 (dates to be confirmed)
This module will develop students’ capacity to understand and their skills for particular sectors. It will also alert students to the key contemporary issues in science communication. It will:
- encourage adaptability towards a range of professional and ideological contexts
- alert students to trends, policies and concerns that frame science communication of the day
- develop a reflexive process of communication that students can use to more effectively serve a wide range of audiences and interests
Unit 6: Diploma project proposal: April - June 2022 (dates to be confirmed)
Students will be working on individual projects. They will have access to face-to-face and online access to their tutors for guidance as appropriate while they develop their project. Each project should clearly show the student’s use of ideas and techniques from across the Diploma programme, and may be relevant to their workplace provided it meets the criteria for assessment.
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.
