By Dr Zaniah Gonzalez Galofre, Research Fellow in the School of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Health, University of Glasgow.
As academics, we are always told how important it is to communicate our research clearly, concisely, and in an engaging way. This was made obvious to me in 2019, when I was working as a Research Associate, and I attended a practical course in public engagement organised by the UK’s Medical Research Council (MRC). This experience together with the day-to-day interactions with students, family members, friends and academics in fields outside my own, reinforced my interest in further developing this key but sometimes not so obvious skill.
Over time, I have also realised that communication is important not just for my career as a scientist, but in many other spheres of my professional and personal development. Although, I can say I have a whole bunch of years communicating as a scientist, attending conferences and presenting data, I do not consider myself the best communicator. Especially as English is not my first language.
At the beginning of the year, I set myself the task of making the most of the career development opportunities available to me in the form of workshops and short courses, to perfect, learn and explore as many skills as possible. I decided to do this so I could build up my CV and make myself a more competent and well-rounded person and professional.
This summer, the Research Culture and Researcher Development Team at the University of Glasgow, in collaboration with the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (NaUKMA), created a wonderful online Summer Academy focused on research communication. Since I am not a master communicator, as soon as I saw the email promoting the Summer Academy, I thought it would be a great idea to enrol myself.
UofG-NaUKMA Summer Academy on Research Communication
I participated in the entire program, and while it was occasionally tiring to balance it with my ongoing lab work, the experience was truly remarkable. I had the chance to engage with colleagues from various colleges, including those at NaUKMA, and it was inspiring to converse, share insights, and learn about the diverse work and experiences of individuals at various career stages.
One of the things that appealed to me, was the focus on different areas of the academic landscape where being a good communicator would be a critical factor for achieving success. When I read through the brochure describing these themes, I realised that I didn’t really know what some of them meant (research development planning, research portfolio) or how important they were (intercultural and interdisciplinary conversations), so this was a critical point for me to start catching up.
Connecting and communicating
In the first theme, You and your ideas, we explored how to raise our self-awareness, identify areas of leadership to focus on and develop, and to better articulate our strengths and expertise. This helped me to be more self-aware of my soft and hard skills, have a better perception of my character and understand how to more efficiently ‘brand’ myself as the person and the scientist I am. It left me with a lot of tools to support me to present not only my research ideas but also myself as a professional.
Over the second theme Communicating your research, we worked on how and where to find the right funding, identifying our research priorities, and how to consider our audience when writing. I particularly found it useful to learn about the funding cycle. Building on the previous theme, it made sense to identify the different funding bodies that would line up with my research interests and consider a proposal that aligned with both my and the funders research interests and priorities.
In the final theme Engaging others with your research, we considered how engagement outside of our direct colleagues, like communicating with public audiences, can reinforce, strengthen, and identify the message we want to convey. This is probably where I struggle the most. I tend to find it hard to find simple words for complicated things. Other than trying to explain the world in simple words to my very young son, I have not given myself the chance to be involved in proper public engagement, which is something I plan to change.
Through the Summer Academy we had time to work in groups and share our experiences. I valued the opportunity to talk to people who were in completely different subjects from my own and somehow, I found myself doing exactly what I was meant to be learning: being an effective and engaging communicator! Conversations came together in the themed panel discussions. These complemented and reinforced the concepts and knowledge we had covered in our workshops, where I was able to see them applied in the real world.
Mouth drop moments
One of the most high impact sessions was led by Mr Adam Gordon, an Intern in the Research Culture and Researcher Development Team and a PGR at the University of Glasgow. This session was mainly focused on writing, something I have to say I am not a massive fan of. Adam asked us to write in a very informal way, nonstop and without thinking very much about what we were typing. He drove the whole session mainly by asking questions like “Who we are”, “How did we get to where we are right now” and “What do we envision as our next steps”. We just kept writing and like magic, I started to see a good and compelling narrative of my professional profile. I was truly stunned and found myself enjoying the process. It was now not a painful task, but something that came naturally and enjoyed. ‘Mouth drop’ moment!
Like this one, all the sessions were led by someone passionate and with lots of years of experience in their topic. Each person brought their own style and left their personal mark on those of us who listened to them. To me, this made the program authentic and something where all of us participating could take away different things.
I leave you with my three top pieces of advice from the Summer Academy:
- Start by being an active listener. I firmly stand by the notion that attentive and engaged listening serves as the foundational step in honing effective communication skills. Much like how reading enhances our ability to write, active listening contributes significantly to our ability to communicate effectively.
- Embrace every chance that comes your way to acquire valuable skills and garner experiences that contribute to the enhancement of your communication abilities. Whether it’s a complimentary course on LinkedIn Learning, a workshop provided by your institution, or any other opportunity that presents itself – capitalize on these moments for continuous growth and improvement.
- The mantra is simple: practice practice practice! Engaging in public speaking before small groups not only boosts your confidence but also equips you with the essential skills to convey your message effectively. It’s crucial to recognize that adapting to your audience and establishing a meaningful connection with them are pivotal factors in delivering your message with clarity and passion.
Participating in the Summer Academy proved incredibly beneficial for me. Exploring diverse aspects of effective communication broadened my perspective on how exchanging ideas, opinions, thoughts, and knowledge in a practical manner can be a transformative skill. Ensuring clear and purposeful understanding of what you want to convey is invaluable, impacting both personal and professional aspects of life.
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