Breaking Barriers in Academia: A Journey to Communicate Science and Inspire the Next Generation
For my first article of 2024, I stopped to think about what I want to achieve through my writing and the year ahead.
Looking ahead
With a focus on trying to communicate science and academia to a broader audience, one of my goals is to share research and academic tips with anyone who wants or needs to hear them. As a PhD student, I’m still in the early part of my academic career, a novice in the grand scheme; however, I want to share these messages with you. Many of us come across as fully-fledged scientists and professionals, but we need to see the stages people go through in their careers. If you share your time with me, I promise to share tips, insights, and breakdowns of different degrees to start your academic journey. Reflections on scientific discoveries and publications to communicate science to more people who need to hear it. Continue to promote the work of other scientists and professionals working to change the world and tell you their stories.
My background
Although I’m still a fledgling in academia, I’ve spent most of my career in education or academic roles, working in vocational and traditional systems. Now, whilst I started in vocational roles, taking professional experiences from the agricultural and animal industries, which I still have a profound connection to and a deep interest in, it was only a short time till I was drawn into teaching.
Teaching
Teaching and academia were always a goal because, whilst interested in making an impact personally, I’ve always believed that sharing tools and knowledge with others is the best way to help have a lasting impact. So teaching was always a good fit in this regard, and as I went through the early part of my career teaching various students and preparing my content to convey a subject (animal studies) that I was particularly interested in, there were challenges. Many teachers faced different obstacles in need of more resources, both practical and more time, and like with any job, there were always targets and KPIs we needed to hit. I enjoyed working with students and helping them move forward in their careers, but I faced some of the same challenges as my colleagues. This is where taking on my next leap forward came.
Academia
Now, the PhD has always been a far-flung goal that I hoped to achieve, and through my teaching, I found the goal I wanted to pursue. Breaking down some of the barriers I observed in my teaching and to make science more accessible. I had personally seen this as a non-traditional university student, and I wanted to make it easier for others to come after me and take their leap forward. Now, academia, like other parts of my career, had a focus on communication, and for someone who has always noticed the need for communication but had previously tried to avoid it due to not only nerves, such as general stage fright stemming from always having challenges with speech in my childhood possibly linked to having dyspraxia. Yet I am always trying to overcome this, aiming to be better than my previous self and taking part in challenging areas, whether presentations, session delivery, vlogs, you name it. I’ve tried to use it to be better.
Now, this is where my scientific and professional identities have amalgamated. My goal was to break down barriers for students. I also wanted to understand these barriers, which has prompted me to work as a tutor, assessor, moderator, and, more recently, as a school governor. These have helped show different sides of education and science and how we engage the next generation. They have been complimented by engagement in science with other science communicators, ambassadors, and board or trustee group members, which brings me to the purpose of science communication.
Sharing our Message
I’m a researcher, but I’ve never classed myself as creative; I write because it helps me put my thoughts down and acts as a journal. The vlogs and other mediums are tools I’ve used to convey a message or reflect on an experience, but how can they help you?
Now, this is where I came to science communication. It centres around a message and can be drawn from any medium. Now science illustrators like thescienceillustrator are examples of incredibly talented scientists who can also share their knowledge through illustration. However, you do not have to be an artist to be a science communicator or illustrator. Tools like Canva are poised to be a successful aid to support you in sharing a message with a broader audience. I frequently use infographics to convey a message or explain steps for a tip in lessons or on social media because they are simple, easy to interpret, and to the point. Now, Canva has a huge repository of tools that you can use to build your image and share your message. However, you need to consider where you’re starting from when sharing your message. It’s also when you must try it; you will improve as you go on, finding your voice in the medium and what works for you. Some will be better than others. It’s always a learning experience, but try to have fun along the way.
Final Thoughts
Now, whilst I have my goals about what I want to share and do throughout the year, you’ll find the area that drives you forward. Whether you want to learn more about science or you have a message you want to share, there is a fantastic community of scholars out there to help. I aim to share my experiences and insights with you to help you take that next leap forward, but academia is about connection and communication. We learn and grow far better together than we do in isolation, so share your message. You never know. Yours might be the one someone else needs to hear.
