Going for gold – UK’s women in science experience; put your research in front of politicians diplomats, journos…

Bulletins, Science stakeholder bulletins

Women

Half of Australia’s science university students are women. So why are only 21 per cent of the professors teaching them women?

Forty Australian universities and other research organisations are signed up and working towards bronze Athena Swan accreditation for supporting women in science. What can they learn from the UK’s ten-year experience of addressing the ‘leaky pipeline’?

UK chemist Professor Tom Welton is in Australia to share how his team at the Imperial College London Chemistry Department achieved a gold Athena Swan Award for promoting gender equality.

His tour of events and workshops kicks off in Melbourne tomorrow. Next week he’s in Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra.

The tour is organised by the Science in Australia Gender Equity as part of their efforts to help their members tackle inequality and achieve Athena SWAN accreditation.
More below.

Stories

Has your team got an exciting discovery, invention, or other news you’d like to celebrate? Consider taking part in the 2017 edition of Stories of Australian Science, our online collection and annual print publication bringing together discoveries, prize-winners and top achievers in Aussie science.

We distribute the stories all over the country and overseas. Prices start from $1,200. More below. 

Training

Telling the story of your science (and telling it well) is crucial. We can help you identify the core story in your research, and craft it in such a way that it’s digestible for the media, government, funders or other stakeholders. We’re holding communication, pitching and media training courses around Australia including:

  •  Wednesday 8 February, Tuesday 2 May, Thursday 22 June
  •  Wednesday 22 February, Tuesday 6 June
  •  Thursday 9 March, Thursday 25 May
  •  Wednesday 15 March, Wednesday 5 July
  •  Wednesday 5 April

More below.

Also, applications open for:

Have a great start to 2017.

Kind regards,

Niall

In this bulletin:

What can we learn from the UK’s efforts to fix the ‘leaky pipeline’?

Half of Australia’s science university students are women. So why are only 21 per cent of the professors teaching them women?

Forty Australian universities and other research organisations are signed up and working towards a bronze award level of recognition for supporting women in science. What can they learn from the UK’s ten-year experience?

UK chemist Professor Tom Welton is in Australia to share how his team at the Imperial College London Chemistry Department achieved a gold Athena Swan Award for promoting gender equality.

“Australia and the UK both suffer from a ‘leaky pipeline’, with a disproportionate number of women leaving academia at all career stages. This loss of female talent is a loss for science and broader society,” says Professor Welton.

Professor Welton wants to change this, and has instituted a series of changes, such as:

  • supporting those who have taken parental leave to get their research back up to speed,
  • making procedures such as promotions and decision-making more transparent,
  • establishing recruitment committees to proactively find excellent female and male candidates and encourage them to apply for advertised positions, rather than bemoaning the lack of female applicants.

Professor Welton has been asked if promoting women in science has been a distraction from the Chemistry Department’s core work. His firm answer is that there’s a strong business case, not just a moral case, for supporting women in science.

“We’re now performing better on many research metrics and in international league tables, we’re an employer of choice, and our research income has increased dramatically.”

“It turns out that good management for diversity is simply good management.”

Professor Welton is touring Australia to deliver a series of public lectures and practical workshops as part of Science in Australia Gender Equity’s (SAGE) efforts to encourage, enable and empower their members to address inequity and achieve Athena SWAN accreditation, starting with bronze, but ultimately going for gold.

SAGE is a partnership between the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, adapting the UK Athena SWAN framework to suit Australia’s conditions and equality challenges, and supported by funding from the Australian Government.

For full details of Professor Tom Welton’s Australian tour, visit: www.sciencegenderequity.org.au/events/prof-tom-welton-speaking-tour-2017-going-for-gold-just-the-beginning

Join the conversation on Twitter via the hashtag #TomWeltonTour.

For more information about the SAGE initiative, visit: www.sciencegenderequity.org.au

 

Stories of Australian Science 2017: put your science in front of those who matter most

Stories of Australian Science is an online collection and annual print publication bringing together discoveries, prize-winners and top achievers.stories-pic

Our books are used by journalists, scientists, politicians and science policy-makers, as a useful reference for keeping up-to-date with new and exciting developments in Australian research. Read the 2016 edition here.

While we can accept stories at any time, to be included in the 2017 print edition, you’ll need to register your interest with us by 1 March 2017.

All we need from you are a couple of dot points and some contact details. We’ll interview the key scientist/s then write and edit the stories, running them by both the commissioner and scientist so you’re happy we’ve got the facts right.

We’ll print 15,000 copies and distribute them to journalists, scientific researchers, politicians and science policymakers as a useful reference for keeping up-to-date with new and exciting developments in Australian research.

We’ll share them on social media, and put them online where users can search by field of science, state, institution or key word to see the science stories that have been included in the current year and previous years. And everything we write is available for you to use in other publications.

Prices start at $1,200 + GST for a single story, and are discounted for multiple stories.

If you’re interested in being part of Stories of Australian Science 2017, contact Lydia on lydia@scienceinpublic.com.au or call the office on (03) 9398 1416.

More details at stories.scienceinpublic.com.au/submission

Explore the halls of power at Science meets Parliament

Registrations have opened for Science Meets Parliament, which will be held on Tuesday March 21 and Wednesday March 22 in 2017.

The program gives scientists an insight to policy and Canberra. This year, Science & Technology Australia is offering two scholarships to STEM practitioners with an Indigenous background to attend Science meets Parliament in Canberra. More here.

It’s your chance to engage with government, with small groups of scientists meeting face-to-face with parliamentarians in Parliament House. It’s also a forum for the 200 attending scientists to meet lobbyists, parliamentary staffers, politicians and journalists—getting a feel for government policymaking and tips on how to successfully engage politicians.

Read the full program at: http://scienceandtechnologyaustralia.org.au/smp2017-program

Information on how to register: http://scienceandtechnologyaustralia.org.au/science-meets-parliament-2017

 

Prizes and funding opportunities

Premier’s Award for Health and Medical Research

veski is pleased to announce the call for applications for the 2017 Premier’s Award for Health and Medical Research is now open. Applications close 2pm [AEDT] Wednesday, 25 January 2017.

Please help ensure that any young, up and coming postgraduate health or medical research scholars you know apply for this year’s Premier’s Award for Health and Medical Research.

Since 1995, the Premier’s Award has been awarded annually to recognise the exceptional contributions made by early career health and medical researchers in their PhD studies.

The Award includes $40,000 in prize money, with $16,000 presented to the recipient and $8,000 to three commendees. The award is intended for individuals who have recently completed or are at least two years into their PhD candidature; it is not intended for individuals with an established research career. Applicants may be undertaking research in any field of health or medical research including public health, health services, basic, or clinical research.

To apply, visit www.veski.org.au/pahmr

New York Stem Cell Investigator Awards

The New York Stem Cell Foundation Robertson Stem Cell Investigator Award RFAs are now open, closing 22 February 2017.

The Innovator Awards for Early Career Investigators in Translational Stem Cell Research support innovative scientists whose research has the potential to transform the field of stem cell research and to advance the use of stem cells for the treatment of human disease. For more information, to download the RFA, and to apply, please visit www.nyscf.org/stemcell.

The Innovator Awards for Early Career Investigators in Neuroscience support the best young researchers working in fundamental areas of developmental, cellular, cognitive and behavioural, and translational neuroscience, broadly interpreted. Proposals need not be related to stem cells. For more information, to download the RFA, and to apply, please visit www.nyscf.org/neuro.

Both awards provide $1.5M USD (payable over five years) to outstanding young researchers from accredited non-profit research and academic institutions through the world (subject to eligibility).

More information at www.nyscf.org

Eureka Prizes

The Eureka Prizes will open for nominations on February 3. Entries close 7pm AEST on May 5.

Known as the ‘Oscars of Australian science’, the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes celebrate research, science communication and journalism, leadership, and students. Finalists will be announced online on July 28, and winners at a gala dinner on August 30.

More at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/eureka

$4 million in grants for citizen science programs

Could your research use a helping hand from volunteers and give them insight into the research process? Grants of between $50,000 to $500,000 are now available to Australian researchers for projects that directly involve the public. Applications are now open, and will close at 4pm AEDT on 17 February 2017.

Examples of successful citizen science projects:

  • Redmap has the help of divers, and commercial and recreational fishers to help keep tabs on the changing distributions of marine species across thousands of kilometres of coastline and ocean. It’s also changing the participants’ understanding of climate change.
  • Wildlife Spotter has seen over 50,000 citizen scientists identify 3.2 million animals in 2.5 million photographs taken by camera traps, attracting volunteer support equivalent to one research assistant working a 40-hour week for 15 years.

Projects must be Australian scientific research projects that include the participation of the public through a range of activities – including collecting and analysing data, formulating research questions and organising research teams.

For more information and to apply, visit www.business.gov.au/csg.

Read the media release from Minister Greg Hunt.

Communication training—book now for 2017

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.training

In 2017 our media and communication training course for scientists will be in:

  •  Wednesday 8 February, Tuesday 2 May, Thursday 22 June
  •  Wednesday 22 February, Tuesday 6 June
  •  Thursday 9 March, Thursday 25 May
  •  Wednesday 15 March, Wednesday 5 July
  •  Wednesday 5 April

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.

Over the years, we’ve helped Monash launch the world’s first printed jet engine, revealed the loss of half the coral on the Great Barrier Reef, helped CERN announce the Higgs boson, and revealed the link between CSIRO’s Wi-Fi patent and Aussie astronomy.

Working journalists from television, print and radio will join us over the course of the day to explain what makes news for them. And you’ll get the chance to practise being interviewed in front of a camera and on tape.

The day’s insights and training will help you feel more comfortable in dealing with journalists when media opportunities arise.

We also offer customised training for your researchers.

  • Our training forums work for 20 to 200 students and can cover everything from pitching to business to building a public profile.
  • For six to twelve people we offer intensive one day hands-on workshops
  • For individuals we offer personalised training in your office or with coffee and cake in our Spotswood offices.

More at www.scienceinpublic.com.au/training

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