What are you doing with China? Explore big data and open source publishing at Nature Springer events; a taste of Science Week; and more

Bulletins, Science stakeholder bulletins

Are you working with industry or university collaborators in China?

We’re creating a list of China-Australia research collaborations. We’re interested in everything from pure research collaborations to industry collaborations. We’ll share the results with the Australian Embassy in Beijing. More below.

Big data: big deal?

Big data, open data and open access publishing are hot topics. Beyond the buzzwords, what is the value for serious research? Springer Nature are holding a series of free symposia and networking events next week in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Hear from their Chief Publishing Officer Steven Inchcoombe, who believes science should be social and research should be read. Read on for details.

Get a piece of the Science Week action in August

Last year, 1.3 million Australians got involved in 1,800 registered National Science Week events around the country. It’s the prime time for open days, events and broad science engagement.

This year marks Science Week’s 20th birthday. International visitors include theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss, astronaut and ‘space oddity’ Chris Hadfield, and Simone Giertz, YouTube’s queen of ‘crappy’ robots.

Plus, IMPACT7 will see innovators compete to present the brightest ideas. There’s still time to nominate. And ‘Blood’ will be the inaugural exhibition at Melbourne’s new Science Gallery.

More below.


Plus, science-themed nights out, and other opportunities:

What do big data platforms and open data mean for research? Springer Nature events in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane

Meet the publisher who believes science should be social and research should be read.

Springer Nature’s Steven Inchcoombe is heading to Australia from the UK for a series of half-day symposium and networking events, exploring the potential of open data, big data and open access publishing for academic research.

As Chief Publishing Officer of Springer Nature, Steven oversees the publication of more than 2,900 journals including influential titles like Nature and Scientific Reports.

In each city, Steven will give a talk on ‘Advancing Discovery using Open Data’, followed by a talk from a local research leader, then a panel discussion with additional experts, taking questions from the audience. These events are a unique opportunity to expand your professional network and hear examples of how available data has been put to use in academic research.

Sydney: Tuesday 6 June – ‘Value of Open Data’ Symposium & Networking Event

Steven will be joined in Sydney by Professor Sally Cripps, from The University of Sydney Business School & Co-Director of the Centre for Translational Data Science. She will present on the impact of open data on her own research.

  • When: Tuesday 6 June, 2017
  • Time: 9am – 12 noon, directly followed by networking luncheon until 1:30pm
  • Where: Seminar Room, Level 2, Fisher Library, The University of Sydney, Camperdown NSW

Melbourne: Wednesday 7 June –  ‘Big Data Platforms’ Symposium & Networking Event

Steven will be joined in Melbourne by Professor Richard Sinnott, Director of eResearch at The University of Melbourne and Professor of Applied Computing Systems in Computing and Information Systems Department, Melbourne School of Engineering. His research spans from bioinformatics to mapped social media data for urban research. He will be presenting on ‘Big Data Platforms for Inter-disciplinary Research Communities’.

  • When: Wednesday 7 June, 2017
  • Time: 9am – 12 noon, directly followed by networking luncheon until 1:30pm
  • Where: The Woodward Conference Centre, Level 10, 185 Pelham Street, Carlton, 3053, VIC

Brisbane: Friday 9 June – ‘Open Access Scholarly Publishing’ Symposium & Networking Event

Ginny Barbour, Executive Director of the Australasian Open Access Strategy Group, will join Steven in Brisbane. She will present on the topic of ‘Open Access Scholarly Publishing: Current State and Future Prospects’.

  • When: Friday 9 June, 2017
  • Time: 2pm to 4pm, directly followed by networking cocktail party until 5:30pm
  • Where: Sir Llew Edwards Building – Terrace Room, Building no. 14, University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus

RSVP for all events: Email Lisa Maclean, Springer Nature via Lisa.Maclean@springer.com.
Please RSVP as soon as possible as places are limited.

Tell us about your Australia-China research collaborations

We’re helping the Australian Embassy in Beijing pull together a list of collaborative research involving Australia and China. We’re interested in the full suite of research from basic science right through to research that’s close to a commercial application or has achieved a practical outcome for both nations.

Joanna Bunting is Australia’s Counsellor (Industry, Innovation and Science) in Beijing. Her role there is to develop and implement strategies to strengthen Australia’s engagement with the industry and innovation, science and research systems in China. She’ll use the information to support her work there.

So please let us know your most exciting Chinese collaborations and we’ll compile them and share them with the Embassy.

Last year we asked for stories on Indonesia-Australia collaboration. You can see the result of that call at stories.scienceinpublic.com.au/indonesia.

You can also see our collections of Japan and US stories at www.stories.scienceinpublic.com.au.

So if you know of partnerships in a similar vein, please contact myself on niall@scienceinpublic.com.au or my colleague Lydia on lydia@scienceinpublic.com.au with some information about the work and the details of the scientist we can talk to (if it’s not you).

Nominate for $5,000 young engineer prize

One of Australia’s best young engineers will win the 2017 Batterham Medal, which will be awarded in November by the Academy of Technology and Engineering.

Nominations for the Batterham Medal open 1 June and close on 31 August.

The Batterham Medal is an early career award for a graduate engineer who has achieved substantial peer/industry recognition for his/her work in the past five years. The Academy administers the award on behalf of the Group of Eight Deans of Engineering and Associates.

The award consists of a medal (The Batterham Medal) and a cash prize of $5,000.

The winner will be an engineering graduate of an Australian university, under 40 at 1 January 2017 and will:

  1. have demonstrated excellence, innovation and impact in a field of engineering
  2. be clearly acknowledged by peers for a signature contribution to engineering in the five years prior to his/her nomination
  3. have advanced the standing of the engineering profession.

Batterham Medal applicants who have taken career breaks for family or carer responsibilities are eligible for an extension to the age criterion, for the period equivalent to the break.

The award is intended to:

  • elevate the profession of engineering among the technology and innovation communities
  • bring to the attention of Federal and State parliamentarians and administrators the key role engineers play in the nation’s development
  • reinforce with these communities the contribution engineering makes to Australia’s reputation as a centre of technology and innovation leadership.

The Batterham Medal recognises Professor Robin Batterham AO FREng FAA FTSE, an Australian science and technology leader who was Chief Scientist of Australia from 1999 to 2006, President of the Academy from 2007 to 2012 and is Kernot Professor of Engineering at The University of Melbourne.

The 2017 Batterham Medal will be awarded at ATSE’s Oration Dinner on 24 November in Sydney.

The Batterham Medal Guidelines and Nomination form are online.

An evening with primatologist Jane Goodall

In June, famed primatologist, environmentalist and ethologist Dr Jane Goodall is returning to Australia for a series of events in Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney.

Since 1960, Goodall established herself as a low-ranking member of chimpanzee tribes in Gombe, Tanzania, where she documented not only complex personalities of the chimps, but the striking similarities they had to humans in terms of dietary habits, emotional stability, the use of hunting tools, and of experiencing war and peace.

For the sciences, Goodall became renowned for broadening the criteria of scientific research, re-introducing the importance of qualitative data to explain some limitations that quantitative data had failed to, and ultimately reducing the distance (and increasing the intimacy) between the observer and the observed.

An Evening with Dr Jane Goodall is presented by ThinkInc in collaboration with the Jane Goodall Institute Australia, and will consist of a 20-minute lecture by Dr Jane Goodall, followed by a 40-minute conversation between Dr Jane Goodall and guest host National Geographic Channel presenter and former zookeeper Hayden Turner.

  • Perth: Friday 9 June
  • Melbourne: Friday 16 June
  • Brisbane: Sunday 18 June
  • Sydney: Friday 23 June

More at: www.thinkinc.org.au

Cyber, SciBar, VR and Science in the Cinema: get set for National Science Week 2017

This August will see Australians take virtual reality journeys to the hidden micro-world inside a plant cell or the outer reaches of the galaxy, dish the dirt on soil science, or explore innovation for a Future Earth.

Pop-up science festivals, ‘Blood’ at Melbourne’s new Science Gallery, and an astronomical observatory on wheels are among the activities lined up for National Science Week 2017. Now is the time to plan and register your event and gain a piece of the science action.

National Science Week gives people from all walks of life opportunities to meet scientists, do science, discuss hot topics and celebrate the contribution of Australian science to society, culture and economy.

Science Week activities will help to inspire Australia’s next generation of innovators and increase community awareness of science in everyday life.

This year’s international visitors include:

  • Simone Giertz, Swedish inventor, maker, robotics enthusiast, and professional YouTuber – Perth, Canberra and Darwin.
  • Lawrence Krauss, American-Canadian cosmologist and theoretical physicist – Adelaide.
  • Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut and ‘Space Oddity’ – Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
  • Oliver James, Chief Scientist at Double Negative, who did the iconic images of black holes and wormholes for the movie Interstellar – Canberra, Sydney and Hobart.
  • Katie Mack is the AIP Women in Physics touring lecturer. Currently a theoretical astrophysicist at The University of Melbourne, Katie will be returning to the US next year.
  • Ahead of Science Week, American astrophysicist, TV star and ‘international badass’ Neil deGrasse Tyson will be touring in July – Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Sydney.
  • And for the SciFi fans and Trekkies, George Takei is coming to Sydney and Melbourne.

2017 marks National Science Week’s 20th birthday.

First held in 1997, National Science Week has become one of Australia’s largest festivals. Last year a staggering 1.3 million people participated in more than 1,800 events and activities, including local science festivals, music and comedy shows, film nights, expert panel discussions, interactive hands-on displays, open days and online activities.

National Science Week will run from 12-20 August. Get involved by hosting an event or supporting activities in your local area. For more information visit www.scienceweek.net.au or email scienceweek@industry.gov.au

Keep in the loop with Science Week updates, by signing up for the newsletter via: www.scienceweek.net.au/subscription.

Schools theme ‘Future Earth’ explores the science of sustainability.

The 2017 National Science Week schools theme will be ‘Future Earth’.

A downloadable poster and teaching resource book are now available online. These free resources focus on Australia’s sustainability science, and highlighting those issues that are unique to Australia and our region.

Future Earth launched in 2015 and is a major 10-year international initiative to advance global sustainability science.

For more information about National Science Week in schools, visit www.scienceweek.net.au/schools

SCINEMA International Film Festival on in June

SCINEMA International Science Film Festival 2017 showcases a selection of science features, shorts, documentaries, animated and experimental films from filmmakers around the world and premieres at Palace Cinemas in major cities across Australia during June 2017.

Organised by Australia’s Science Channel, here is a taste of this year’s program:

The Purple Plain

Directed by Kim Albright. Produced by Chi Thai and Catherine Vetere. Written by Avril E. Russell, United Kingdom.

How different would things have been if it had been one small step for a woman, and one giant leap for mankind? Inspired by the true story of Mercury 13; the first women who tested for space flight.

Owsia (Darkened Water)

Directed by Alireza Dehghan, Iran.

The aqueduct in the central Iranian city of Yazd has supplied water to the city for 2,500 years, now rots away due to bureaucracy and corruption.

Fix and Release

Directed by Scott Dobson. Produced by Jono Nemethy, Canada.

An amazing team at a turtle trauma centre in Ontario, Canada, is determined to battle to even the odds for freshwater turtle survival in the modern world.

Pangolins in Peril – A Story of Rare Scales

Written, Produced and Directed by Muhammad Ali Ijaz, Pakistan.

The rare, secretive Pangolin plays a vital ecological role but is on the verge of extinction. Two brave and passionate wildlife watchers fight against the odds to save the endangered Pangolin.

The film nights all take place at 6:30pm local time on the following dates.

  • Adelaide – Wednesday 7 June, Palace Nova
  • Brisbane – Thursday 8 June, Palace Barracks
  • Sydney – Wednesday 14 June, Palace Verona
  • Melbourne – Thursday 15 June, Palace Cinema Como
  • Canberra – Friday 16 June, Palace Electric Cinema
  • Perth – Monday 19 June, Cinema Paradiso

For more information and to book tickets, visit: scinema.australiascience.tv.

Host a SCINEMA film night in Science Week

Community screenings will be held in pubs, schools, libraries, community centres or even the local bowling alley during National Science Week in August. Interested organisations can register to host a SCINEMA screening: scinema.australiascience.tv/community-screening-registration.

Nominate your innovators for IMPACT7

IMPACT7 is a new competition to be held on 1 August at Melbourne’s Meat Market.

The organisers, SlatteryIT, are looking for research innovators to present their projects to industry and public. Their focus is on projects that are solving wicked problems and producing research with impact.

What’s in it for your research innovators?

  • The opportunity to present their project to a panel of ‘Impact Leaders’ from government, Google, CRCs, CSIRO, Cicada Innovations, Starfish Ventures and an audience of science and business leaders
  • Training webinars
  • A boot camp supported by ON, CSIRO’s national science and technology accelerator
  • Taking the next step whether that be towards partnerships, commercialisation, investment, or expansion
  • Networking
  • Travel grants to Melbourne.

What intrigues me about this new event is that it’s being organised by SlatteryIT who have vast experience in supporting tech start-ups, and are now exploring how they can bring that knowledge to support innovation in the science world. Their flagship events are Tech23 and Agile Australia.

IMPACT7 is a partnership with CSIRO and is supported by Cicada Innovations, CRC Care, MTP Connect, CRC for Plant Biosecurity and the EMCR Forum.

Nominations are open until 16 June and the process is quick and easy.

Please encourage your most innovative researchers to take a look at http://www.impact7.com.au/apply/

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.

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.

“The biggest prize I received as a Fresh Science finalist was intensive media training by Science in Public,” says astrophysicist Alan Duffy.

“I gained experience in different media formats such as radio and TV with practice interviewing, and invaluable coaching in how to tailor my message that I use to this day.”

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

  • Sydney – 29 August, 15 November
  • Melbourne – 21 June, 2 August, 12 September, 8 November
  • Perth – 5 July, 21 September
  • Adelaide –19 September
  • Canberra – 5 September

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.