{"id":474,"date":"2018-08-15T17:04:07","date_gmt":"2018-08-15T17:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/communications\/?p=474"},"modified":"2020-05-19T11:49:55","modified_gmt":"2020-05-19T11:49:55","slug":"esof-2018-big-science-little-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/communications\/blog\/2018\/08\/esof-2018-big-science-little-me\/","title":{"rendered":"ESOF 2018: big science, little me"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To put it simply, EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) is big<\/em>. At the 2018 conference in Toulouse, there were more than 150 panel sessions, 200 outreach events and 4000 people attending. I\u2019ll admit, I was a little overwhelmed. I\u2019d spent a good chunk of my childhood (and adult life, if I\u2019m honest) wishing to be Hermione Granger with a time-turner, but this time I had to accept that I\u2019m not \u2013 I can\u2019t be in two places at once. I was going to have to make some decisions about where to go, what to see and who to meet. With this blog post I\u2019ll give a rundown of the decisions I made that turned ESOF into the unforgettable experience that it was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Hermione knows best. Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Which session should I attend?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This was a constant battle. With as many as fourteen sessions happening simultaneously, I knew that whichever one I chose, I\u2019d feel like I was missing out. The breadth of topics discussed was incredible. From flash mobs in shopping centres to cancer immunotherapies; the implications of Brexit to the cosmic vastness of space; rethinking science communication to gender equality. Every flavour of scientific theme was on the menu. All were food for thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps most relevant to my role as Science Writer and Outreach Coordinator was the session entitled \u2018Science is never boring\u2019. This session focused on science communication, delivered through a range of media. On the panel \u2013 alongside Verena Viarisio, EMBL\u2019s Outreach and Local Communications Manager \u2013 were science communicators specialising in writing, podcasts, presentations, events, graphic design and theatre. Despite the different channels, the advice to the audience could be distilled into three main points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Pick your audience (and know who they are!)<\/li>
  • Define your message<\/li>
  • Keep it simple<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    One extra nugget I took away from this session is that when you\u2019re communicating science, you should pick the medium that you actually enjoy! It makes so much sense. With enjoyment comes enthusiasm. And while enthusiasm doesn\u2019t equal expertise, it\u2019ll at least motivate you to put in the time and effort to learn. This is something I\u2019ve been given the opportunity to develop since moving out of the lab and starting at EMBL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There were times when the decision was easy. Of course I was going to be front row centre at the EMBL session, \u2018What would it take to regrow an arm\u2019, cheering on Iris Kruijen, EMBL\u2019s Press Officer, who was moderating the panel. The panellists were James Reddington, James Sharpe, Robert Prevedel and Aissam Ikmi, who brought with them a range of expertise in genomics, microscopy, and tissue regeneration. I\u2019m constantly surprised at the way seemingly disparate topics researched at EMBL seamlessly knit together, and this session embodied that perfectly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But how to decide? Read, read, read the abstracts! Sometimes a panel still won\u2019t be what you expect, but other times it turns out to be better! It also helped to gather a group of conference buddies so we could update each other on the different sessions we\u2019d attended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Should I ask a question?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    An emphatic \u2018yes!\u2019 is always the correct answer. But when faced with a microphone and 200 professional peers, my answer often becomes less enthusiastic. What changed my mind was remembering that one of the reasons I was at ESOF was for growth: personal as well as professional. To my amazement, the room did not fill with the sound of pointing and laughing. I levelled up and next time this won\u2019t be a big deal. Promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Who should I try to meet?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Anyone who\u2019s willing to chat! Those crewing the exhibition stands are always after someone to approach them. Even a serendipitous escalator ride led me to spontaneously introduce myself and talk with one particularly inspiring speaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Also, I had the most amazing luck, along with Berta Carre\u00f1o, another science writer at EMBL, to bump into an incredible mix of scientific researchers, advisors and communicators from Europe and around the globe. Our little group felt like a microcosm of everything that ESOF represents. As well as keeping each other updated on parallel sessions, we exchanged plenty of useful and useless knowledge, over lunches, coffee and spacecrafts (see below). This included facts such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    • Implantable wafers that vaccinate against certain cancers exist and are currently being trialled<\/li>
    • Japanese rice fish are essentially a bag of stem cells and can be used as a model organism instead of zebrafish<\/li>
    • Researchers can fluorescently tag a drug after<\/em> it\u2019s entered a cell<\/li>
    • You can trust that someone\u2019s an honest person \u2013 and\/or mad as a chair in a wonderful way \u2013 if they impersonate a dolphin within the first two hours of you meeting<\/li>
    • Don\u2019t drink cappuccino after 2 pm and never<\/em> eat gnocchi on a Wednesday in Italy*<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      I honestly can\u2019t remember how we met half of the group, but post-ESOF meet-ups are already well on their way!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"
      ESOF: a speedy snapshot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      What should I do in the evenings?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Eat, drink and be merry! There was still so much to do! ESOF organised an extensive \u2018Science in the City\u2019 programme with an incredible number of evening outreach events which were free for anyone to attend. While lots of them were in French \u2013 to cater to the local, mostly non-scientific audience \u2013 a few included a mix of French and English. One in particular was Eur\u00eakaf\u00e9, which hosted a superb series of scientific flash talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Then there was the party at Cit\u00e9 de l\u2019Espace. What better way to host a party for nerds (myself very much included) than at a space theme park? I don\u2019t know what I enjoyed seeing most, the inside of the Mir space station, the rings of Saturn through an observatory telescope, or a few hundred enthusiastic attendees cutting some wild shapes on the dance floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      What should I take back with me?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      All in all, attending ESOF was an incredible experience. Before I arrived, I honestly didn\u2019t know what to expect – I\u2019d never been to a conference as big or far-reaching. It was an eye-opener to see what else revolves around science, and how I can get involved. Of course, this included scientific communication and public outreach but the world of policy shaping, funding landscapes and business innovation also became that little bit clearer. I learnt so much, met so many people, and made some decisions. Although a time-turner would always be a useful tool when it comes to the opportunities available at EMBL, for now I\u2019m learning how to get by without one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      *Italian tradition dictates that cappuccino is only for breakfast and gnocchi is only for Thursdays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      To put it simply, EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) is big. At the 2018 conference in Toulouse, there were more than 150 panel sessions, 200 outreach events and 4000 people attending. I\u2019ll admit, I was a little overwhelmed. I\u2019d spent a good chunk of my childhood (and adult life, if I\u2019m honest)…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[467],"embl_taxonomy":[],"class_list":["post-474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-personal-perspectives"],"acf":[],"embl_taxonomy_terms":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/communications\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.svg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=474"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":475,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474\/revisions\/475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=474"},{"taxonomy":"embl_taxonomy","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/embl_taxonomy?post=474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}