Anna May, postdoc in our group, is from now on the new Communication & Outreach Officer at ICMAB. Anna holds a PhD in Materials Science and Technology and is currently studying a postgraduate course in Science Communication.
Nothing in science has any value to society if it is not communicated, and scientists are beginning to learn their social obligations. — Anne Roe (The Making of a Scientist (1953), 17)
This experience of two days gives the opportunity to scientists to see the dynamics of working in the media, with the aim that they learn to master the everyday situations, such as TV interviews, news writing, and press conferences, and learn to communicate science.
Apart from the audiovisual media, the course is also dedicated to radio programs, institutional communication, science communication agencies and science outreach on the Internet.
Some of the professionals that give the course are Graziella Almendral (Indagando TV), Ana Montserrat Rosell (Tres.14), Miguel Ángel Martín (Instituto RTVE), Marta Cáceres (Para todos La 2), Juan Antonio Senante (RTVE), Isidre Ramos (RTVE), Jaime Pérez del Val (CSIC), Pablo González Batista (M80), Adeline Marcos (Agencia SINC), Pere Buhigas (Lab24), and Marc de Semir (Fundación Bertelsmann).
The conference consisted of some interesting debates on “How to measure the excellence and the impact of science”, “Great discoveries and controversy in the media”, or “Science museums and schools: how to develop mutual relations”. The other sessions consisted of different workshops about science, education, communication, social media, etc. A special mention to the session by Ignacio Morgado (from the Institute of Neuroscience of the UAB) on “Perceptual illusions: is the world how we see it?“, in which he made the audience realize that a lot of what we see, smell, hear… is only in our brain.
Fix the eye for one minute in the cross on the top-left side of the picture, and then move the eye to the right side. If everything works, you will see a greenish colour. Repeat for the bottom-left cross, and then you will see a yellow colour on the bottom-right. Does it work?
Also, a special mention for Escolab, a platform that organizes visits to Catalan research centers for secondary students, and Pendulum, an association that brings the kids to the nature for a scientific picnic in the middle of the Montseny Natural Park, among other scientific workshops and activities.
This experience of two days gives the opportunity to scientists to see the dynamics of working in the media, with the aim that they learn to master the everyday situations, such as TV interviews, news writing, and press conferences, and learn to communicate science. 
