PM’s science prizes close Monday; Fresh Science; and how to get media for your research, conferences, and events

Bulletins, Science stakeholder bulletins

Nominations for $750,000 Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science close on Monday.

You’ve got to be in it to win it, as they say… and it’s simple to nominate in the first (shortlisting) stage – more below.

We’ll also be opening nominations for Fresh Science next week, our competition for early-career researchers with a story to share.

Now in its 21st year, Fresh Science has trained over 500 scientists to share their science, and generated hundreds of news stories via TV, print, radio and online.

We’re looking for partners around the country and will run Fresh Science in any state or territory where we can secure local support. If you’d like to join us, get in touch.

National Science Week is also fast approaching – and now is the time to register your event, apply for state funding and gain a piece of the action. More below.

We’ll be providing publicity support again this year – including resources on how you can prepare your own media kit. So, if you’re planning an event or speaker with strong media appeal, let us know—email scienceweek@scienceinpublic.com.au and we’ll consider including it in highlights media releases.

We also offer media support for conferences to help you put your field of science in the spotlight and reach beyond the walls of the conference centre. More on that below.

And we’ve got communication training courses coming up in Melbourne (12 April & 5 June), Adelaide (8 May), Perth (10 May), Sydney (4 July). Details below.

I’m in Japan this week, and China next week, and will be posting some of the stories of research collaboration you shared with me via @AusAsiaScience.

If you need more info on any of the above I’ll be on email, or you can call the office on (03) 9398 1416.

Regards,

Niall

Fresh Science nominations open next week

Do you know any early-career researchers who have peer-reviewed results, a discovery, or an invention that has received little or no media attention?

Nominate them for Fresh Science, a national competition that helps early-career researchers find, and then share, their stories of discovery.

We’ll pick the top 10 in each state for a day of media training and the chance to share their work with the media, general public and school students. We’ll write short profiles on each of the Fresh Scientists, which are shared online and via social media, and the top story will be written up as a press release and sent out to the media.

Fresh Science is looking for:

  • early-career researchers (from honours students to no more than five years post-PhD)
  • a peer-reviewed discovery that has had little or no media coverage
  • some ability to present ideas in everyday English.

Nominations open 28 March 2018. 

More at: http://freshscience.org.au/how-to-nominate

Nominations for $750,000 Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science close on Monday

It’s simple to nominate in the first (shortlisting) stage. All you need to do is fill in the online form that requires: a 1,000-word achievement summary, CV, details of referees and a few other supporting details.

So, nominate your humble science heroes, promising early-career researchers, media-shy innovators, and modest teachers who deserve to have their work recognised. Prize winners are positive role models to all Australians, so consider nominating leading women and men for the prizes.

Nominations are open until 5.00pm (AEDT) 26 March 2018. 

The guidelines for the prizes have been updated for 2018, so make sure you review the latest information, including nomination forms, at: business.gov.au/scienceprizes and apply before the deadline.

If you have any questions about the guidelines or application process, please call 13 28 46 or email via https://www.business.gov.au/forms/email-us.

Other awards now open

Eureka Prizes

The ‘Oscars of Australian science,’ the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes celebrate research, science communication and journalism, leadership, and students. In 2018 there are 16 prizes and a prize pool of $160,000 on offer.

Finalists will be announced online in July, and winners at a gala dinner on August 29. Applications close Friday 4 May 2018.

More information at: www.australianmuseum.net.au/eurekaprizes

Academy of Science Awards

Nominations and applications for the Australian Academy of Science’s 2019 honorific awards, research conferences, research awards and travelling fellowships are now open.

The Academy Medal and Honorific Awards recognise outstanding contributions to the advancement of science from senior scientists as well as early and mid-career researchers, in the physical and biological sciences. www.science.org.au/opportunities-scientists/recognition/honorific-awards

Research funding, conference and lecture funding and travel opportunities are also available. More at: www.science.org.au/opportunities

AIPS Tall Poppies

The Young Tall Poppy Science Awards recognise excellent up-and-coming researchers, alongside a proven ability and passion to engage the wider community with science.

Run by the Australian Institute for Policy & Science, these awards are often a stepping stone to other science awards.

Nominations close Monday 9 April 2018.

More at: www.aips.net.au/tall-poppies/nominations

Science on the rocks, meet your brain, and kick the physics out of a footy: get set for National Science Week 2018


Last year, 1.2 million Australians got involved in a record-breaking 2,100+ registered National Science Week events around the country, with over 3,000 media stories explicitly mentioning National Science Week, and many more coving the events.

This year’s program runs from 11 to 19 August and will feature NASA scientists from the Cassini and Kepler missions touring Australia, coral science in the outback, the search for Australia’s next top junior weather presenter, and more.

So, how will you get involved?

Now is the time to plan and register your event and gain a piece of the science action. Registration is open on the Science Week website: scienceweek.net.au/event-holder-registration.

Science in Public is again providing publicity support, so if you’re planning an event or speaker with strong media appeal, let us know—email scienceweek@scienceinpublic.com.au and we’ll consider including it in highlights media releases.

Event grants

The 2018 federal grant recipients have been announced, but several of the state and territory coordinating committees hold local grant rounds.

Find out about other grant rounds as they’re announced by signing up for the National Science Week newsletter via: www.scienceweek.net.au/subscription.

For more information visit www.scienceweek.net.au or email scienceweek@industry.gov.au

Planning a conference? Share your science outside the venue


A major conference is a unique opportunity to put your field of science in the media spotlight. You’re bringing the thought leaders of your field together in one place—why not run a media and engagement program to share the science with other stakeholders and the broader public?

We can help you build the buzz for your conference through social media, help organise public events, write and issue media releases, run a conference media desk, line up photo opportunities, and gain Australian and international media coverage.

Our team has experience in conferences including managing the media programs for:

  • last year’s World Congress on Public Health—a 2,700+ delegate conference that generated over three hours of national radio cover, plus TV, radio and online from the BBC to Buzzfeed
  • the 2012 High Energy Physics Conference—a small conference, but one that co-announced the discovery of the Higgs boson with CERN. As well as supporting CERN’s own media conferences held jointly between Melbourne and Geneva, we serviced more than 130 media interview requests in 48 hours
  • the 19th International Congress of Genetics, held in Melbourne in 2003. We managed a media room with 120 journalists and generated an hour of national TV coverage, 16 hours of national radio coverage and over 20 pages of major metro print coverage.

If you’d like to talk about communication options for your conference get in touch.

You can see examples of our work at: www.scienceinpublic.com.au/conferences

Communication training—book now for 2018


We offer a flexible range of training programs to help your researchers understand their audiences, the essence of their story, and how to build their profile with the audiences and stakeholders that matter for their projects and for their long-term career development.

Our offerings include:

  • Meet your audience: from government, business, and/or the media
  • Make your pitch: what’s the essence of your story
  • Build your profile: websites, media, social media
  • Make your story work for mainstream media
  • Presentation training: make your story come to life
  • Photography and videography for scientists.

For more information on a bespoke course, visit www.scienceinpublic.com.au/training or call us on (03) 9398 1416.

We also hold regular media and communication training workshops around Australia, for scientists and those who communicate science.

In 2018, our media and communication training course for scientists will be in:

  • Melbourne: Thursday 12 April, Tuesday 5 June
  • Adelaide: Tuesday 8 May
  • Sydney: Wednesday 4 July
  • Perth: Thursday 10 May
  • Other cities & dates on demand.

Registration is now open for all courses via EventBrite.

In these courses, we’ll help you shape the story of your research into a form that works for the media, as well as for government, industry and other stakeholders. The day’s insights and training will help you feel more comfortable in dealing with journalists when media opportunities arise.

Science in Public—planning, mentoring, communicating

Contact me to find out more about our services to train, mentor, plan and deliver media and communication strategies for science.

We offer:

Communication plans, mentoring and training
We can review your stakeholders, messages and tools and help you and your communication team refine your plans. We offer this service for individual announcements or for a whole program or institute.

Media releases, launches, and campaigns
We can help you develop an outreach program, from a simple media release through to a launch, a summit, a conference, or a film.

Publications and copy-writing
From a tweet to a newsletter; from a brochure to a Nature supplement, we can write compelling and accurate science-driven copy which captures the essence of your story and purpose.

Kind regards,
________

Niall Byrne

Creative Director
Science in Public

82 Hudsons Road, Spotswood VIC 3015
PO Box 2076 Spotswood VIC 3015

03 9398 1416, 0417 131 977

niall@scienceinpublic.com.au
twitter.com/scienceinpublic
www.scienceinpublic.com.au