PostdocTransformation show for scienctists leaping into business
Get to know companies which hire people with a doctor title
Episode 0055 Shownotes
From your research to
your science communication,
PhDSciCom on LinkedIn & Instagram,
Dr. Frederike Zeibig & Maike Stelter
Science communication – how hard can it be (if you managed thinking, conducting, analyzing, writing and even publishing your research and are a comfortable teaching your own bachelor and master students)? Well, it’s not that simple, LOL.
In this interview of the PostdocTransformation show for the scientist leaping into business, Dr. Frederike Zeibig and Maike Stelter from PhDSciCom help you to make your scientific communication accessible and effective. They emphasize the benefits of process communication, being supported by their interdisciplinary team.
They also highlight various formats like scientist of the qeek, scientific communication activity of the week and also a campaign explaining good scientific practice.
The episode highlights how PhD SciCom supports young German and international scientists in Germany and encourages scientists to become more visible using social media.
Subscribe to our weekly seasonal show on your favorite podcast platforms: Why? Postdoc scientists & PhD students / candidates will learn the basics for their career transition from research into business & industries AND will get to know a company that hires early career scientists!
About our PostdocTransformation show
Invest in your PostdocTransformation. Welcome to the seasonal show for scientists leaping into business. In every sponsored episode, we are happy to recommend employers of choice for you. Make sure to check your readiness to leap out of science with us for free, as linked in the show notes. For your career transition, we offer customized career transition e-courses and memberships, also at graduate schools all over the world.
Maybe yours too. And if your university isn't yet our customer, enroll in your free email course for career transition made simple as linked in the show notes. I'm your host, Professor Dr. Eleonore Soei Winkels, with my team who is rooting for you. And let's build your PostdocTransformation with this episode.
Announcement: Second upcoming podcast show #CreatingReorganized
[00:00:00] Thank you for listening to my PostdocTransformation Show. Maybe you want to leap out of science and start your own side business as a runway for your better future. Then you will benefit from my free business preparation quiz as linked in the show notes. If you want to organize your marketing and selling efforts, please also subscribe to my new video podcast show, Creating Reorganized.
[00:00:25] I share my tricks from creating this show, speak with business owners who run a podcast for their business, and learn from podcasting service providers about their tools boosting our businesses. My new video podcast show, CreatingReorganized, will also be a living example of applied industrial and occupational psychology for my students in real life.
[00:00:46] And now, let's get to this episode.
[00:01:52] Welcome PhDSciCom!
[00:01:52] Eleonore: Dear PostdocTransformers, I'm here with someone representing PhD SCICOM.
[00:01:59] So that means science communication during the PhD stages. And the reason why I'm inviting them to the podcast is really that they have impressed me as being active in science communication during their PhD studies. in Germany and I've seen the scene being active in the US and other countries, but you are remarkably doing something new for the German academic community, #IchBinHanna, so to speak, for the young generation of scientists who want to create a career for themselves in academia, but also outside of academia and why that is important.
[00:02:42] So maybe you are still in the trenches of your PhD, at the beginning. And you're thinking science communication. How hard can it be if you if you manage thinking, conducting, analyzing, writing, and even publishing your research. And maybe are already comfortable teaching your own bachelor master students, well,
[00:03:04] It's not that simple.
[00:03:05] And this interview of the PostdocTransformation Show for the scientists leaping into business ductile. Dr. Frederike Zeibig and Maike Stelter from PhDSciCom will help you to make your scientific communication accessible and effective.
[00:03:20] They highlight the benefits of process communication being supported by their interdisciplinary team.
[00:03:26] And They also showcase various formats, like scientists of the week, scientific communication activity of the week. And. And also importantly, their campaign explaining good scientific practice. This episode highlights how PhDSciCom supports young German and international scientists in Germany and encourages scientists to become more visible using social media. So that is LinkedIn, Instagram, et cetera.
[00:03:53] I have been a long time fan of PhDSciCom, and They are helping other rising scientists to become more visible in their science communication and own spare time. They don't earn money with that.
[00:04:08] They just want to help. them a shout out on social media. If they're out by the Instagram link in the show notes. I have been around in academia for quite a long time.
[00:04:18] The Importance of Science Communication
[00:04:18] Sometimes scientists seem to forget or even neglect that their societal impact can only fully unfold, when they are able to explain, the research means for the public. Research is often funded by the society So like national and international or European grants, et cetera. So at least in my case, I received a couple of scholarships and awards and like my dad always said: privilege comes with duties. Applied here, your capability to make your scientific experience and expertise accessible and relatable for people outside of your academic bubble to a trustworthy authority is a duty that the public deserves. And to me, it's also a leadership skill that that will help you thrive in businesses and industries, If you if you ever decide to leap out of science and it's a skill you can learn with PhDSciCom.
[00:05:16] So welcome welcome to the stage, Frederike Zeibig from PhDSciCom.
[00:05:24] Frederike Zeibig: Thank you very much for the nice introduction. I'm also very happy to be here and to represent PhDSciCom.
[00:05:29] Eleonore: okay.
[00:05:29] PhD SCICOM's Mission and Formats
[00:05:29] Eleonore: maybe you are wondering, where can we find PhD SciComm? Well, the best page is the Instagram page. full of inspiration for you. If you are a scientist who wants to test the waters of how can you become more prominent or more visible, more
[00:05:47] findable, in the internet, also on Instagram, but more importantly, also on LinkedIn, you should follow their account PhdSciCom. Why have you started this? this is voluntary work. and you're providing valuable resources for others.
[00:06:01] Why are you all doing this?
[00:06:04] Frederike Zeibig @PhDScicom: PhD. SciComm is not too old yet. It's like nearly two years. And, we were some scientists meeting on a summer school for science communication. And so we were all very keen for doing science communication, but nobody did it. And then we went to a workshop on methods and techniques, how to do science communication.
[00:06:23] after that workshop, we were supposed to work on our own science communication projects. But then in the end, we felt, why should we now work on our own science communication projects, when we all have the same obstacles, actually which means when we would go back to studying, or going back to working in the lab, we would all have the same problems, like time, and do we actually want to expose ourselves out there, and who's going to support us. Therefore we then felt, okay, maybe it's better to do like an initiative for enabling young scientists to do some science communication by providing them with the resources they need and also by providing them with the platform. And therefore we choose Instagram to actually reveal what people are doing out there in science because there are very interesting projects.
Let's pause for a moment to respect those who sponsor this valuable episode. I want to share with you my best marketing agent. Serving my underprivileged, underrepresented and underserved audience, leads and clients is key for me. As an Asian working mom, business owner and professor in Germany. But I can't be marketing and selling all the time.
And I have to be mindful with my own resources. So I chose Podbean as my podcast hosting and monetizing provider. I'm on the unlimited plus platform. plan for our Postdoc Transformation Show and Creating Reorganized Show. With Podbean, your audience can inclusively listen and watch your podcast according to their visual and auditive needs.
You can also embed your customized podcast player on your external website or use one of the beautiful website templates. You can easily share your podcast on all major podcasting directories, which allows you to reach a huge audience on their favorite devices, including Podbean also has an ads marketplace and you can easily attract and manage sponsors for dynamic ads, which are played out depending on your audience criteria.
This way you can serve your audience for free. Some of them become your clients eventually. but your advertising sponsors independently support you financially in each episode. See insightful stats per demographic and which episodes attracted most listeners so you can tailor your future episodes for your leads and clients and present suitable external ads.
If you want to try Podbean for your own podcasting, DM or email me Podbean so I can share my experience. Please check it out via my link in the show notes. I only got a small financial reward if you become their customer using my Podbean link.
Thanking our advertisers for their financial support, we are happy to return to our inspiring episode.
[00:09:18] Eleonore: Absolutely, and that really confirms my impression you are doing something different and needed in German academia. When I'm looking at your Instagram profile, I see a couple of formats. can you explain which kind of formats you have, what is the reason behind that and are there any success stories?
[00:09:36] Frederike Zeibig @PhDScicom: Yeah, I think the core actually is that, Scientist of the Week that you can be with us. So, this format is actually made for representing your science and representing your, motivation to do science communication. We also started the scientific Communication Activity of the Week, which will give you some methods and technologies and techniques on how to do science communication, and where you can actually do it. and we are getting more grown up in the scientific community.We are starting to interact with other leaders and share resources on podcasts
[00:10:07] Eleonore: I'm really grateful for you doing this because I'm one of these old professors, I'm already 43, I haven't grown up with Instagram. I haven't grown up with social media whatsoever, but I do think that it is important.
[00:10:21] And yes, one can learn that. And I do learn from my own students, but if it's coming from the audience itself. It absolutely speaks a different language because you know what works and what not because you are the audience yourself, right? So I'm coming from a different position.
[00:10:36] I'm coming from a different experience level and don't have the imagination of what could be working because I'm not consuming as much as someone brought up with social media.
[00:10:48] Challenges and Teamwork in Science Communication
[00:10:48] Eleonore: While I do this, I'm wondering, how do you do this? it takes so much time for myself and my team.
[00:10:55] I know you are a PhD student yourself. almost finished.
[00:10:58] Eleonore: So how do you do this? When do you do this
[00:11:01] Frederike Zeibig @PhDScicom: yeah, time is always a big issue with us, to be honest, but, actually we are a team of seven people and we have different tasks that we're actually doing. So of course, most of us are doing social media and are also working on the content. so we're trying to split those tasks because everyone has like a limited time trying new formats or trying what works best on Instagram is trial and error. So, we also did that because, we also didn't know what would people like to see and, to get more insights in that, we, started, getting some statistics out of Instagram and analyzing those ones. So what we actually do see is what works best are reels or videos that people post, because this actually interacts more with the community. And it also gives a personal, touch to your science that you're representing.
Hey, before we continue, we want to appreciate those who financed this valuable episode for you. I want to share with you my time and energy saver. As a professor for industrial and occupational psychology, I also teach about the future of work. And as a former IT strategy consultant, of course I embrace AI to be a future proof podcast producer of the PostdocTransformation Show and the CreatingReorganized Show.
Descript is the video and audio podcast podcast. editing tool of my choice. I pay for their creator plan and it's worth every dollar. Descript comes with an integrated professional remote recording studio for the best audio quality for your guests. For example, I record an hour interview with a guest or a solo, and instead of painstakingly Mistakenly doing a rough cut and deleting all the ums and uhs and filler words and rambling around which I did for hours, I now click on Descript AI, editing for clarity and my rough cut is done in seconds or a minute.
For fine tuning, I edit text instead of audio waves and I just insert all my pre recorded music intro, ads and outro, like this one, in a matter of minutes. Descript support closed captions, fine tuned AI driven summaries, chapter markers and titles, which I feed into my show notes and podcast hosts.
Descript even suggests the best clips for social media and the video editor automatically includes the synchronized speakers, cameras, and audio captions. I can also include stock graphics or pre recorded videos, and you can find all our short form examples on our Instagram and TikTok @postdoctransformation.
If you want to try out Descript for your own podcast editing, DM or email me Descript so I can share my experience and consult you. Please check it out on my link in the show notes. I only get a small financial reward if you become their customer using my Descript link.
After this quick appreciation of our sponsors, we are now back in our insightful episode.
[00:14:05] Eleonore: Okay. So that really is a side project of yours. And this side project helps you become visible within academia, and to have a lot of eyeballs of established professors who are like, how do they do this? I know that because I know my colleagues. But also, I would say that from an industry career perspective, you're gaining visibility.
[00:14:26] What topics are shareworthy for a scientist? for someone who has never touched science communication, but wants career opportunities, how can they become visible from your perspective?
[00:14:38] Frederike Zeibig @PhDScicom: I think actually it's a very common idea among scientists that science communication is, results oriented, that you should just present your results, and we at PhDSciCom, we established the idea of process communication, because most of the scientists are scared that someone is going to steal their results, right, which I feel is completely fine, but this keeps people away from doing science communication. But actually to, gain more interest in science and also more understanding for, people who are not related or who are not working in your field, you can do process communication. Because for me, it's very interesting to see what are you actually doing in the lab? How do you get your results? And also maybe for people who work in social science or in history, like, where are your resources? Like, how do you get them? Do you have to travel somewhere? Maybe show me something about your travels? And this is also something that every scientist can do especially PhD students feel that they, just saying oh, I just started. I don't have anything to talk about. And that's not true. Because you can talk, you can tell me something about your, your work. your discipline, you can tell me something about your research question, what's the motivation for the research, all those kinds of things and it's doable and you can evolve those stages during your PhD and by that you can gain visibility.
[00:15:51] Eleonore: Absolutely. in relation to that, I want to highlight one of my previous episodes. why you should be active on social media as a scientist, there are many benefits to that. One is , but it should also be, how can I serve my community and my community could also be your own students.
[00:16:11] How can you serve them by being open to connect with others, people that you don't have usually access to are maybe approachable on social media. I love to connect my people with other people. my business context to students and vice versa.
[00:16:31] And I think that we've done this, also in years where we have no social media. That's when we wrote an email to someone asking for a connection on the conference or whatever. But I think that you should not dismiss the idea of using social media for your own opportunities. All right. So when I talk about opportunities, what are your next opportunities, projects that you have still in the pipeline? I heard about a blog
New PhDSciCom blog and becoming an association (eingetragener Verein)
[00:17:00] Frederike Zeibig @PhDScicom: Yeah, actually, that has been something that has been going on for a long time actually, but now we are about to publish our blog which will also give an add on value for our scientists, because there they can represent, their research in broader text and also it increases accessibility because not all of us have Instagram, right? For example, we had, one scientist of the week and she actually wanted to show it to her grandma, but of course the grandma didn't have any Instagram. And therefore we could actually, like now we're starting this blog and then it's easy to access all the, content that we create. And also on the other hand, we have a new a format good scientific practice because we feel this is also something that, creates value for, People who are not in science because they feel, okay, science is actually something that is kind of controlled or has like standards. And now we are trying to come up with a format that is related to like when you're actually attacked as a scientist. So like when you're talking about science. And, suddenly someone comes up and telling you, oh, this is not right or coming up with whataboutism and this kind of things, how to interact then and how to also protect yourself a little bit.
[00:18:10] this is also something that is very important for scientists because we are always like personal, reachable and attackable.
I want to share with you my number one lead generator, and you can start that even without a podcast. It's TypeForm and I use them to create free quizzes with open questions and multiple choice answers. I also predefined mandatory answers so I can qualify and score leads. Collect their email addresses for later nurturing.
I can brand my quizzes with my audio files, branch a given quiz based on the answers for the different target groups, and maybe sharing specific podcast episodes or other information, and automatically send them an email after submitting the quiz. I even include the a calendar invite for those leads who qualify specifically.
So, now I can help everyone on the surface and on a deep level for free and divert my own valuable time only to my high ticket leads. I collect all the data automatically after my initial setup as I have also integrated it. with my remaining tech stack. If you want to try out TypeForm for your own lead generation and qualification, DM or email me TypeForm so I can share my experience and consult you, please check it out via my link in the show notes.
Again, I only get a small financial reward if you become their customer using my Typeform link.
PhDSciCom helps you become more resilient on social media
Thanking our advertisers for their financial support, we are happy to return to our inspiring episode.
[00:19:56] Eleonore: I'm absolutely attesting to this point because We postponed this interview because I went to a conference, Hochschulbarkamp, talking with PR people from universities doing science communication, or helping the professors, helping the PhD students, helping the postdocs to become more visible on social media.
[00:20:17] Talking to people who support you as a scientist to become more visible and you're doing something else. You're empowering the PhD students themselves, okay. But the same topic unites you. One of the biggest resentments were coming from PR people saying, our professors, especially if they're women, especially if they're minority, they tend to have also experienced comments, trolls and everything. So how can we help them tackle that? And I think that what you are now trying to establish as a new idea is really speaking to that point one has to become more resilient posting this.
[00:21:33] Success Stories and Future Plans
[00:21:33] Eleonore: So when we're talking about your Instagram and I see that your Instagram has grown recently.
[00:21:39] Can we talk about more of the success stories? Where do you see that it makes a difference? Has it made a difference for you as the initiators, or do you see projects, research projects, collaborations that have arisen through that?
[00:21:54] Frederike Zeibig @PhDScicom: I think both for us, It's interesting to see people reaching out you can do this via email or text us on Instagram, LinkedIn. just ask and say hey, I would like to represent my science. how can I do this?
[00:22:04] we would actually come up and schedule a meeting with you and identify on how you can be scientists of the week. with this outreach and also with us coming from different universities all over Germany, we actually have a good community. that helped us to start. So we were actually also asking colleagues or friends, would you like to represent your research, and therefore, we actually grew quite a big network. But then also on the other hand, we had, very helpful support on Instagram actually, because the science, communication community is very supportive, I have to say. They are actually very helpful in all terms. And they are also, sharing everything with each other. So depending on knowledge, of course they will also support us. But on the other hand, also, sharing stories or, saying like, Oh, have a look at this Instagram account, which we are also doing. So I think we are nurturing each other. And therefore I think, our community has grown so much in, yeah, recent times. And, for us it was, yeah, we are very happy that it is such a successful project.
[00:23:05] Eleonore: So all your extra time is worthwhile Absolutely. a big shout out. I've seen you and I can only recommend to you do the same and even more if your time allows get people on board who should become visible. that's my call to action to my postdoc transformers. You should become visible.
[00:23:28] if you don't know why, this episode should inspire you at the end of the day, you are serving not only yourself, but also your future audience, your future clients, your future whoever, communication, even outside academia, is something you have to practice. we all think we can communicate about our science.
Hey, before we continue, we want to appreciate those who financed this valuable episode for you.
If you want a relatively passive income, creating a paid e course as your service is a great option, especially if you are like me, an experienced teacher in higher education and now want to share even more knowledge and maybe also create a paid membership with live group meetings beyond the e course.
Offering an e course is a no brainer. Thinkific is an AI infused platform. Learning Management System, which is a dream for every educator. After setting up an e course or membership, you also need to market and sell your e course. And that's when lead generation with TypeForm and podcasting with Descript and Podbean can complement you well.
If you want to try out Thinkific for creating your own e course and membership, DM or email me at Thinkific, so I can share my experience and consult you. Please check it out via my link in the show notes. I only got a small financial reward if you become their customer using my Thinkific link.
After this quick appreciation of our sponsors, we are now back in our insightful episode.
Science communication is a transferable skill
[00:25:36] Eleonore: The next step will be to communicate our science to people who have no idea what we're doing. science communication is actually at the forefront of something that you can do as a transferable skill. So if you want to leap into industries, get your communications right, and PhDSciCom can help you.
[00:25:54] Frederike Zeibig @PhDScicom: Yes,
[00:25:54] and to add on this one, actually, I have to say, I think lots of PhD students face the time when they are not so happy with their research, but by communicating science with others, you can gain new motivation. if you tell me about your research, I will be excited about it because I think there are lots of interesting projects out there.
[00:26:10] Yeah
[00:26:12] Eleonore: Yeah, and validating with others about things that you are doing in your research is encouraging already sort of like, you're not the only one. I studied and did my PhD pre COVID obviously. So I think that in nowadays time, it's very hard To come together in person in the teams, because maybe the opportunities that have come with working from home has let the people stay at home and not so much engaged with other people anymore.
[00:26:45] communication at the core is easiest from person to person. But using visual and also audible elements can enhance . And understanding how you can become your own voice is essential for your career.
[00:27:00] So in case that you are curious about PhD SciComm, I will also link in the show notes to their separate highlights where they have Collected the different formats that are helping you to become more visible. So it really is a call to action.
[00:27:16] Take this opportunity. It's free. And I'm not sure whether I should endorse that as being free, I think that you should also have a premium service because actually, if you are talking to senior scientists who need the same kind of service, they should pay. So PhD students, I agree, should not pay, but the senior scientists, they should be able to pay.
[00:27:38] And I think that, PhD SciComm is building up core competency in science communication that could be leveraged in the future. So if you're listening to this episode now, it's free, but maybe in a couple of years time, I'm hoping that they also can monetize that because science communication is an asset that needs to be learned.
[00:28:01] And I think the growth learning curve is really huge. And if you don't want to do the work, ask PhDSciCom.
Networking at scientific conferences focussing on science communication
[00:29:46] Eleonore: Frederike, you have just mentioned that you want to become an association because now you're just single people working together, collaborating for a good cause, to get more funding, that is also future proofing your work.
[00:30:02] What are your future plans?
[00:30:03] Frederike Zeibig @PhDScicom: So, yeah, the idea was actually that we are gonna, yeah, become an organization, and we will be able to acquire funds because we have also been joining. For example, have to.
[00:30:13] I've been at the Forum Wissenschaftskommunikation to represent our research and also next week we're going to be at the NAVIC conference for scientific, communication. And so far we are just going there as private people, representing our initiative, but in order to get more funding and also for people who would actually just like to support us because they, share our vision and our mission. we would like to become an association and therefore we also looking for other members if they would like to join and also to do some, consultation for PhD students and grow, science communication.
[00:30:45] Eleonore: Very cool. And I can see two or three people who would be ideal. you have already collaborated with Emilia Miller (Instagram), right?
[00:30:53] Frederike Zeibig @PhDScicom: Yeah.
[00:30:54] Eleonore: I've followed her on Instagram and, Susanne Geu (Instagram), you probably also know. Yeah, I guess that there is a huge community that is working side by side with you and keen on sponsoring.
[00:31:07] I hope you become the formalized organization to get funding. And I hope that with this episode, you will be also intrigued to join PhD SciCom either to become visible as an individual scientist, but maybe also are you also looking for other new team members?
[00:31:23] Frederike Zeibig @PhDScicom: We are always looking for people who would like to represent their research on Instagram, of course, but also for people who would just like to join. So recently we actually had someone, Svane, she's now a member and also, She has been researcher of the week and now she's also joining us and she's actually responsible for our blog so it's accelerating now because she took lead on that one and I think everyone can be very curious on how it's going to look like.
[00:31:46] Eleonore: Okay, and to put a bow on that, I have published an episode with Dr. Tina Persson, and she described that she created a podcast where she did not want to be visible. Dr. Eleonore Podbean, ActiveCampaign, Descript, Squadcast, TypeForm, experience in teamwork, how to run a podcast and everything like that.
[00:32:15] And we just discussed that opportunities like this help you become a leader and a better team player, if you will, but also gain practical experience in science communication and working with the new tools So what tools are you working with?
[00:32:30] Frederike Zeibig @PhDScicom: yeah, we are also actually using Canva, for doing the formats and, I think it's very true that if you're enabling people to do something, you actually gain a lot of experience because, Lots of people actually don't like to be in the focus, right? They don't like to be exposed all the time. And, I feel giving this, opportunity for people to shine and to grow is something very important and that's also something in our team that we actually do. Not all of us would like to go out and talk about it, but you just can stay in the back and do something nice and also support people by doing that.
[00:33:03] Eleonore: Perfect.
[00:33:03] Eleonore: I'm also offering a podcasting business internship. So if you have people who want to dive into podcasting and to understand how to create a podcast, how to invite people, how to interview them, how to do the whole process, maybe also co host with me that's also science communication.
Remember, you are a PostdocTransformer, you are highly intelligent, well educated, a bachelor, master, and maybe you have already your doctor under your belt, or you are a postdoc. You are internationally experienced, fluent in English, a leader and expert in your prior research field. You're resilient, brilliant in adaptation and problem solving.
You are eager to bring in the transferable and monetizable skills needed in many companies to embrace the future and to become, or remain, an innovator in their markets.
Hey, Postdoc Transformer, are you curious to ask professors, principal investigators, visiting scientists, postdocs, PhD students, and candidates some in depth life and career guiding questions? But it feels cringe, so you end up not asking?
Buy our PostdocTransformation Card Game to have more fun and valuable insights in your journal club, lab, and mentoring meetings, lab rotations, during conferences, panels and Breaks at the Mensa.
You'll get 10 intriguing mentoring questions per career level. So 10 for PhD students, 10 for postdocs, 10 for professors, 10 for parental scientists, underprivileged and underrepresented and underserved scientists. Check them out with our discount coupon on the PostdocTransformation Shop, linked on postdoctransformation.
Let's pause for a moment to respect those who sponsor this valuable episode.
So far, you have learned all my favorite marketing and sales tools. Now, how can you bring all the data from your audience, leads, and clients together so you can serve them on a value ladder and for the long term? Even after multiple touchpoints with you, you want to remain on their mind for when they are ready to buy your service or product.
I am expanding my digital business. And I use ActiveCampaign as the centerpiece for all my services like email course, podcast, newsletter, show notes, websites, sales page, merch shop, forums, whatever it is as needed. As a former IT strategy consultant, I have high requirements on my tech stack and ActiveCampaign offers so many integrations to all my other apps.
I really use it daily. If you want to create your own digital business with various AI driven lead magnets and funnel options, DM or email me ActiveCampaign so I can share my experience and consult you. Please check it out via my link in the show notes. I only get a small financial reward if you become their customer using my ActiveCampaign link.
[00:35:10] Science Communication and Support
[00:35:10] Eleonore: At least Emilia Miller told me that. She sees my work as science communication, and I'm not really talking about my science. instead, I'm shining a light or sharing the stage for scientists. I think there are some overlaps and if I can support you, let me know, I will also send you people keen on learning social media marketing, because I think your cause is good to support.
[00:35:34] if I imagine I'm in my first PhD year, and I don't really have a lot of things to share apart from no results, but maybe also I have no idea how to like communicate. Do I have to come with a ready made text that you will then share? Or will you help me?
[00:35:56] Frederike Zeibig @PhDScicom: Yeah, of course. We are there to help you That's our idea and our mission. so basically it will be like, we will make, an appointment together with someone from our team, and then we will talk actually. about what's your motivation, what's your discipline, what's your research question, any kind of thing that, you can talk about for your research or about your research. And then we will actually come up with an idea on what would you like to communicate. So maybe you can just, share some experiments that you have and, also motivations or maybe just explain your discipline. For example, I didn't know anything about, social science or citizen science. So you can just talk about this. This will also be interesting for, our, followers. And then we will come up with an idea on how would you like to present your research actually. So some people would like to be, individually exposed and tell. about their stories and to tell about their research. But other people who would like to be more in the back, you can just do slides, for example, for this means you can just do text and explain it by this. Otherwise you can also just make a little video and make a little voice over and talk about it by not actually showing your face. This is also completely fine. And it's also completely suited to your needs and what you would like. And then further, we will come up with an idea on What can you communicate? So that you leave this meeting with like an idea of like what kind of format. So as I said, like text or videos, but also on like, what will I communicate? discipline motivation research questions problems or methods that I'm using? And then you will just go and individually work on that one. And during this time, we will be there to give you feedback or if you have any further requests. And, after giving us your materials, we will be, looking into them and, saying, yeah, this is fine. And then we actually will, put everything, on the format slides that we are having, like on Canva. So this also means that you actually need no expertise. You don't have anything, to dive into. And, therefore this is also very easy for everyone and a very low threshold. So I think with this, actually, we have, a very, limited time that you need to do this and can, represent yourself, as a science communicator very easily and very professional.
Shout-out to PhDSciCom and how they support early career scientists in their science communication
[00:39:41] Eleonore: And I have to stress again that this is a service that is really high value, because as a scientist, not experienced at all in social media, I can see that a lot of People would refrain from that because they think that, I don't know the formats. the numbers. I don't know anything about that.
[00:40:00] And you're taking away those obstacles and make them shine. you should have them pay for that. and senior scientists are probably more a different target group for you in the future. Okay. So thank you for all of these insights that you shared.
[00:40:19] The why behind science communication is so important and why you do that as PhDSciCom. And I think that if I look into the scene on Instagram. I'm really happy to see you because I see a lot of individuals doing great. They're not always coming from Germany. So it is a very young community in Germany, and I think that you are helping them, how you are helping them, that really speaks also for you.
[00:40:49] And I hope that when you later on apply for jobs inside or also outside of academia, that really is a testament for your own leadership and thought leadership and your engagement outside of the science that you do as a PhD student. And so, applause for you. And everyone who is in the team, PhDSciCom.
[00:41:13] PhDSciCom Formats and Examples
[00:41:13] And before we now speak with Maike Stelter from PhDSciCom. I want to read out two examples of a public centric, self-introduction for a presentation or as part of a panel. think elevator pitch. All right there, make it clear why the research is important, what the research is about and how it has been conducted so that people are informed and feel encouraged to ask questions without without being overwhelmed and believe me, I have endured thousands. Of lengthy. Eco centric, monologues of scientists.
[00:41:48] Our guests from the first half of this episode, Dr. Frederike Zeibig.
"I did my doctorate at the Institute of plant production at the university of Giessen. I examined wild wheat. That is the original ancestors of today's wheat in order to identify positive properties of wild wheat human nutrition and whether this wild wheat can be grown in Germany in order to have more diversity in the field."
[00:42:15] And here's the short bio of Maike Stelter who will be our guests in the second half of this episode.
"My doctoral thesis integrates perspectives from the field of international relations and forestry. I conduct research on the perception of global sustainability norms in local contexts. Mainly I aim to understand how the triangle of ecological economic and social sustainability is understood and put into practice by local stakeholders. I do this based on digital field work in Ghana and Lao people's democratic Republic, conducting semi-structured interviews with different stakeholders remotely because of COVID."
Let's hold that thought for a quick appreciation of your business.
Are you wondering when and where you can get the attention of your audience? You always think you don't have the time to post on multiple social media platforms. I totally get you. I have been enjoying weeks of social media breaks, why I serve my audience with prepared content to be scheduled out as needed.
Ideally, you have just derived counter social media content from your one video podcast episode, but even without a podcast. With Later, you can create and schedule your own social media content in advance according to the best posting times based on your followers. If you want to schedule your content on social media, DM or email me Later so I can share my experience and consult you.
Please check it out via my link in the show notes. Again, I only get a small financial reward if you become their customer using my Later link.
Thanking our advertisers for their financial support, we are happy to return to our inspiring episode.
[00:46:08] So the researcher I would like to introduce today to you is Dunja Shabatar. She is a religious study PhD researcher, and she does great work on the churches in Japan. And she introduced the field work she does on our channel, and you can listen to some of her content now. As linked in the show notes.
[00:46:28] Even though the example "Wissenschaftlerin der Woche: Dunja Sharbat Dar – Die Erforschung kirchlicher Atmosphäre in Japan" that is following now is in German. I want you to look at the transcript that I show as subtitles. This is also in English.
[00:46:39] SciComm community, my name is Dunja Sharbat Dar and I am a PhD student at the Center for Religious Studies in Bochum. I am a PhD student in the field of Church Atmosphere in Japan. For the research of my PhD I use methods of qualitative social research. This means, I travel to Japan and do field research, interviews and photos there.
[00:47:00] For this I not only need Japanese and have to master the Japanese language, but I also have the opportunity to explore Japan a bit and see the shrines and temples on site. Here, for example, a festival of the Kanda Shrine in the middle of Tokyo. Doing field research in Japan is always a challenge, because the Japanese culture is very different from the German one.
[00:47:19] For example, it was necessary for me to ask the priests and pastors of the churches and to ask them to ask their community members if they would take part in my interviews. The next challenge is then to show the Japanese that I really want to interview them in Japanese and not in English. It took a while and then people are very shy.
[00:47:41] But as soon as they have understood that I can really speak Japanese, it is no longer a problem. It can happen that Japanese people do not immediately express their opinion when they are sitting in an interview, because in Japanese society it is not normal to communicate negative opinions directly to a person.
[00:47:56] That is why it is important to take a lot of time and to give the person who is in the interview enough time to think and express their opinion. Is that the same in your research? Just write it in the comments.
[00:48:09] Very cool. I already follow her. So I will also link to her Instagram account so that you can see some of her other work. This Wind Beneath Your Wings is something that PhDSciCom really can provide. And I encourage every one of my listeners to think about science communication in a professional way.
[00:48:29] If you need more inspiration, please visit the channel PhDSciCom on Instagram, where they have a couple of other great videos. examples as well. When we look at the channel, it's evident that you have a couple of disciplines. Are you preferring disciplines from humanities or natural sciences?
[00:48:49] we aim to feature all of the disciplines in our scientific world to show how diverse science can be. We believe that disciplines can learn from each other, but we quite don't often do that as researchers.
And once you have determined your readiness to leap and want to transition into business or industries, then you can enroll in your free email course with 10 actionable, bingeable email lessons until you start your job in business. You'll get 10 emails like this at zero cost.
1) How to leap out of science.
2) How to build your sustainable LinkedIn profile.
3) How to read social media and network.
4) How to research your favorite jobs and employers.
5) How to do information interviews to get insights.
6) How to create your customized applications with ChatGPT.
7) How to prepare your thesis from a business point of view.
8) How to apply to your favorite employers.
9) How to choose the right job offer.
10) How to prepare for your new job
Enroll now for free.
Have you found this episode so far helpful for yourself? Well, maybe you can subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Podbean, or wherever you get our show. And also share this episode with your PhD bestie because that would encourage us to help the underprivileged, underrepresented, and underserved early career scientists leaping into business.
This would also ensure that you don't miss a future episode. Also, our subscription and listening numbers are key for finding the right sponsors for our show so that we can help you for free.
Good scientific practice
[00:49:17] Dr. Absolutely great. I think this interdisciplinary approach is something that really is handy when it comes to finding an innovative edge and to think about problems from a different perspective. And is that interdisciplinary approach also reflected within the team of PhD SciComm? We support the researchers from a different discipline.
[00:49:38] So, I myself, Myself come from the field of social sciences. I would rather not help someone from this field because I know how they work and I will understand things that others won't. So we try to be interdisciplinary in the support team. Well, that's great. I really do think that it is easy to talk with.
[00:49:56] People who come from the same discipline. Everyone has a common ground of understanding, but making others understand the questions really hard when you don't have the same vocabulary. And I think that this is also a great example for my own students. Okay. So the scientist of the week is one of the formats that you have, but I also heard from Frederika that you also have some other formats, so which are these?
[00:50:18] Currently we'll find, the SciCom activity of the week on our channel. So this is, info posting where we try to look at many different ways of communicating science and introduce some tools and activities. So this can be science slams, science cafes, but also how to do a short movie, use a meme in your science communication or humor.
[00:50:37] These are tools you can try if you want to start some science communication. And we also had a quite nice line the last year, so specific program line on good scientific practice. I would like to feature that as well because it is really important for all scientists. As a PhD student, it's not that common to talk about good scientific practice on a daily basis.
[00:50:58] There are still some questions for PhDs. How can I deal with my data? How can I transform my science into science communication and do that in a good, ScientificWay. So we also highlighted this and it was quite nice line that you can find on our profile still. Please take a view on this. And we really had some great feedback on that.
[00:51:18] I'd like to highlight it here. I was linked in the show notes.
[00:52:06] And I can attest to that because when I did my PhD 2005, 2008, We talked about good scientific practice, but it has changed, right? Even more important today than 20 years ago. If you are a PhD student nowadays, it's absolutely different when you apply around with ai and all of these tools are important.
[00:52:30] If you don't use them, you'll be falling behind. But if you do use them, you need to also know how to handle that, and that's why I absolutely appreciate. Celebrate that PhD sitcom tackles that challenge and gives you a great source of orientation.
[00:52:47] So the next thing I would love to ask is where can people find you and work with you and also learn from you?
[00:52:54] We are always open for new team members if you are. I would like to do that work. I would love to join you. I would love to support you in any way that you can think of. It doesn't have to be too much time, but if you're interested to learn how we work, please just find us on Instagram.
[00:53:09] Find our email phdscicom. gmail. com and join our next team meeting to meet us. And yeah, you can also meet us on conferences, of course. So the next one, the big one we are joining is the Forum Wissenschaftskommunikation on 11th and 12th of December this year in Berlin, organized by Wissenschaft im Dialog.
[00:53:29] We will be there with a great interdisciplinary workshop on error culture. We will discuss how error culture in science communication can be Balance between transparency and the demand for perfection. As I said, we feature process communication, so it's really important to see how do scientific, that daily work, how do they find new questions?
[00:53:47] How do they treat their data? When we are as transparent as we can be about our personalities, about how we deal with certain problems that we have in science, we open up a space to discuss science in a very difficult societal way. How can we build trust in science and not mistrust methods, but still raise questions of complexity, the lack of closure in science and our culture.
[00:54:12] We want to discuss that with you. So if you join the Forum Wissenschaftskommunikation in December, please find us there. We will also be present at the Messestand of SINECT, so you can also meet us there and we are really happy if we can meet and greet you. I was lucky to have role models that I could emulate, but I know that academia is a place where you can easily have only toxic leaders.
[00:54:38] And I want my own students wherever they go, that they find across social media, role models which they can look up to PhDSciCom is doing wonderful work and that's why I'm very happy to be a sponsor for the next conference. I'll be looking forward to spark new inspirational discussions between you and my own community, the PostdocTransformation community.
[00:55:05] I will always share the things you present on Instagram. Thank you so much. Because I think Frederike also said that already, but we do mostly volunteer work and we are all PhD students. So everyone knows that we are not paid as much.
[00:55:19] And these conferences are not that expensive. And of course, they have reductions on the tickets, but we are really happy that you help us to be able to join the conference. So thank you for that.
Eleonore: My pleasure. Like I said, I think science communication is an important part of being a scientist and not everyone learns that well.
[00:55:44] And I think the way you teach others to do that better and also in a modern way is, is really something that graduate schools should also support, but they don't. And that's why your work is so stellar. I've seen this also internationally, but your initiative is the only one that I know in Germany. And that's why it's so important.
[00:56:07]
[00:56:11] Hi, encouraging overview into the world of science communication with PhDSciCom. And we have two episodes directly tied to this topic. Episode 12 top reasons to be active on social media as a scientist and episode 18. Business requiring teaching skills. Both of them are linked in the show notes.
[00:56:31] If you become more and more active, send us a direct message with your science communication post on LinkedIn, Instagram, and tip out wherever you want. Refer to this episode, that will really that kind of impact is the one that we all looking for. And it would make us so happy. Thank you.
Thank you for listening!
Do you want a transcript of our episode? And our episode sponsors answers to all six bold questions so that you can choose to apply. Do you want to nominate your potential employer of choice so that we can ask them our bold questions? For all of that, click on our links in our show notes and on our website, www.postdoctransformation.com. Remember to check your readiness to leap out of science and to enroll in our free email course Career Transition Made Simple. Thanks for your attention. I'm Prof. Dr. Eleonore Soei Winkels, the host of your seasonal Postdoc Transformation Show.
Hey, do you want to boost your PostdocTransformation and gain practical business experience? Click below to apply for a podcasting business internship with us!
And did you know that we offer deep dive e-course workshops and memberships at graduate schools? Maybe also at yours in the future. Ask your graduate school coordinator, whether they want to book my services so that I can deliver them to you 24 seven, 365 on your mobile device.
And even better, if you get us paid by your grad school, we will pay you 50 percent recurring sales commissions.
So, you will earn money with us as we help you and your PhD besties to [00:05:00] transition into business. We can build our PostdocTransformation together.
So, we are at the end of this episode, and I would love to have you, PostdocTransformers, to contribute to future seasons. We have a PostdocTransformation show newsletter where we inform about upcoming episodes, or we lay out the planning for the next seasons so that you are able to forecast who you want to ask as well as role models, or maybe you want to ask a couple of questions certain guest that is upcoming.
This PostdocTransformation show was brought to you by Prof. Dr. Eleonore Soei-Winkels
Leveraging podcasting for attracting the best students from all over the world
If you are a university chancellor, grad school dean, speaker, professor, have you ever wondered how to make your grad school stand out in the crowded landscape of academia?
Do you aim to attract the best master's students from all over the world to learn from and work with your professors so that your research remains globally recognized and well funded? Do you wish to repel bad applications which aren't tailored towards your grad school's research profile?
Now, let's talk about a powerful branding tool, podcasts. They're a game changer for higher education institutions. As a professor, active on TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, and a podcast host and producer of this Postdoc Transformation Show, I'm here to encourage all the graduate school representatives to think beyond the conventional marketing mechanism.
Instead of being one of many vendors, at a time limited grad school fair, why not create a podcast that showcases your grad school as the ultimate destination for the world's best masters students. Share inspiring and encouraging stories of your top PhD students, high profile alumni, your Your faculty and the incredible opportunities your grad school offers.
A podcast can be a window into your school's vibrant community. It's cutting edge research and unique experiences, and in times of AI generated marketing material, a podcast with your academic leaders. This would prepare your best candidates for the application.
Even better, you can support and make your current Ph. D. students and postdocs visible for their next career steps in academia or business. Remember, successful graduates elevate your grad school's reputation. So, if you are a university chancellor, grad school dean, speaker, professor, Consider this. By launching a podcast for your grad school, you can elevate your grad school's brand and tell aspiring scientists and employers what makes your grad school the best choice, with scalable, evergreen content.
If you're interested, forward this to your marketing representative and get our list of 30 sample episode titles customizable for your grad school podcast. And just enter an email address on my website, www. postdoctransformation. com as linked in the show notes. As a seasoned professor and podcaster, I'm also happy to strategize about how you can launch your grad school podcast on Podbean, the podcast hosting platform we use for the Postdoc Transformation Show, supporting scientists leaping into business.
Thank you for reading our full transcript of this episode.
For the PostdocTransformation show, we will interview industry experts, leaders in the corporate world, but also companies serving early career scientists leaping into business.
If you want to let us know who we should interview and bring into the show, please subscribe to our inner circle newsletter. In there you can share with us your career transition questions and suggest topics for future episodes.
This way, you will have a voice in our PostdocTransformation show.
If you value our show, please share your favorite episodes with your PhD besties,
follow us on socials and also let us know via direct message what you enjoyed!
We really appreciate positive reviews and stories on all social platforms and podcast players!
Why?
Because this show is for free, but we need sponsors to bring the show to you. So, please help us to help you on your PostdocTransformation.
All right, thanks for listening and I hope that you will watch our show and also listen to our show for the next episodes. And like I said, go back to the previous episodes. I think they have valuable insights for you.
We appreciate every one of you!
Until the next episode,
Cheers,
Eleonore & Team PostdocTransformation
Enroll in your free email course for your career transition into business! Especially emails no 2 & 3 focus on creating a LinkedIn profile and using LinkedIn to network for your career transition!
PostdocTransformation Show mug (buy 1 or get 3 for FREE)
Yeah, you are a grateful listener of our PostdocTransformer Show!
Do you want to support us in our mission to support underserved, underrepresented and underprivileged early career scientists in leaping into business?
Well, then get 3 mugs for free (we cover the costs and shipping), and you place them at your grad school and/or lab kitchen for your PhD peers. Just enter "3mugs" and "freeshipping" and you'll get a 100% discount. Thank you for investing your time into our PostdocTransformation!
