INESC TEC participated in national congress dedicated to science communication

The team of INESC TEC’s Communication Service participated in the 12^th edition of SciCom, a national congress that brings together professionals working in science communication, promoting discussions, project presentations and the sharing of knowledge and experiences between participants. The event took place in Bragança, in early May.

With the motto “Transform”, SciCom brought together dozens of science communication professionals, for a three-day event that included training workshops, plenary sessions, presentations and roundtables, an exhibition and networking moments.

Joana Coelho, manager of INESC TEC’s Communication Service (SCOM), participated in a panel on “Funding opportunities in science communication”, together with Sara Varela, coordinator of the Science Communication Office of the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of the University of Coimbra, Ivone Fachada, director of Centro Ciência Viva de Bragança, and Miguel Ferreira, representing the Centre for Functional Ecology. This roundtable promoted the debate around funding in science communication, as well as the sharing of practices and ideas to address this challenge, which influences the whole community.

Sofia Maciel and Pedro Fonseca, members of SCOM, promoted the training workshop “Open microphone: how to turn ideas into podcasts”. The workshop aimed to present the experience of producing INESC TEC podcast, Science Bits, showing why this is such an interesting and relevant means to communicate science. The participants were able to learn more about the processes of defining the topics for each episode, writing the script to guide the conversation, recording and editing the episode, and sharing it among the community.

“We believe that’s crucial to participate in initiatives like SciCom, especially because we can engage with professionals dedicated to science communication, like us, who share the same challenges. The exchange of knowledge and experiences is an important contribution to the emergence of collaborations, new projects, and ideas, favouring the development of science communication in Portugal”, mentioned Joana Coelho.

SciCom – Congresso Anual de Comunicação de Ciência is an annual event organised by SciComPt – Portuguese Science and Technology Communication Network; this year’s edition took place between May 3 and 5, in Bragança. In 2024, the event will take place in Braga.