Writing and communicating your science

April 19-20, 2023

09:30 - 17:30

Registration is free to all participants.

Rationale:

There is no science without communication and no successful scientists without good writing and communication skills. You can do the best science that exists, if you don’t write papers about it – papers that get cited! – and if you don’t give presentations that impress people, your science will likely be ignored. Moreover, if you do not write convincing proposals that appeal to non-specialists, you won’t get observing time, nor the coveted post-doc position and certainly not the very competitive but needed grants to fund your research. Finally, as a scientist, it is your duty and privilege to communicate your science to the general public, policy makers and the media, and like all the rest, this is something that needs to be learned.


This course is an introduction about how to get your message across in the various supports you need to use as a scientist, with an emphasis on how to write your scientific papers and proposals. Participants will learn how to shape their papers, how to write in a concise and lively way, what are the recipes to follow and the pitfalls to avoid for an excellent proposal, and what are the key rules for giving a stunning talk and presenting a poster. Finally, they will explore the various communication channels that they should consider as a scientist and how to excel at them.

Format:

The conference is scheduled to take place in person at ESO Premises in Alonso de Cordova 3107, Vitacura, Santiago. Limited slots are available.

ESO Code of Conduct:

We aim to host a friendly and productive meeting which is welcoming for everyone. As such, we ask all participants to adhere to the ESO Conference Code of Conduct.  In summary:

  1. Behave professionally. Harassment and sexist, racist, or exclusionary comments or jokes are not appropriate. Harassment includes sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, sexual attention or innuendo, deliberate intimidation, stalking, and photography or recording of an individual without consent. It also includes offensive comments related to individual characteristics, for example: age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, race, nationality or religion.
  2. All communication should be appropriate for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds. Sexual or sexist language and imagery is not appropriate.
  3. Be respectful and do not insult or put down other attendees or facilitators of the event. Critique ideas not people.
  4. Should a participant witness events of bullying, harassment or aggression, we recommend that they approach the affected person to show support and check how they are. The witness may also wish to suggest that the person report the inappropriate behaviour. However, it is up to the affected person alone whether or not they wish to report it.
  5. If participants wish to share photos of a speaker on social media, we strongly recommend that they first get the speaker’s permission. Participants may also share the contents of talks/slides via social media unless speakers have asked that specific details/slides not be shared.

Quick links

Keywords: Writing | comunication skills | science communication | papers | proposals | talks | presentations

Workshop email: scientific_writing23@eso.org