L-R: Greg Foot, Jonathan Sanderson, Steve Palmer, Celeste Biever, Julie Gould
Things to consider if you’re thinking about working in the field of science communication.
Contributor Samuel Brod
“A full house”, someone muttered as a besieged looking member of staff rushed out extra chairs for the hundreds of researchers filtering their way into the auditorium. Sci-comm, as it’s often termed, seemed a hot topic this year. A panel at the London Naturejobs Career Expo on September 19th, 2014 asked the question: What is science communication? The panelists were Steve Palmer, Cancer Research UK; Jonathan Sanderson, StoryCog; Greg Foot, BBC; Celeste Biever, Chief news editor for Nature. Chair: Julie Gould, Naturejobs.
The talk began with the panelists describing their current jobs and how they’d found them, followed by a more general discussion around pursuing a career in science communication. On stage, the panel was at ease and their comments often induced laughter from the crowd, not out of politeness but genuine amusement. Within the audience, there was a definite sense of expectation–it seemed that they were waiting for answers. Continue reading