Photo: UHH/Denstorf
30 September 2024, by EUGLOH Local Student Board
Photo: EUGLOH Local Student Board
When we heard about the debate competition “Utopie Europa”, organized by the Institut français and the Franco-German University, we decided to write up proposals to improve science communication at European universities.
“Utopie Europa 2024” was the fifth edition of this format and with a couple of members of our EUGLOH Local Student Board (LSB), we formed the first team from the University of Hamburg to ever participate. Three of us travelled to the French Embassy in Berlin on 24 September to present our proposal.
The event not only provided us with a stage to discuss the topic of science communication that is very close to our hearts but also allowed us to meet inspirational people and engage with the student contestants from other German universities who all had diverse study backgrounds and different ideas on how to renew European University Alliances.
We are deeply concerned by the growing skepticism towards science. As long as the general public does not understand the nature of science, there is a great risk of misunderstandings. Misunderstandings that led to total science denial in parts of the population during the Covid-19 pandemic. Misunderstandings that threaten our social cohesion and democracy.
Science is a method to obtain knowledge, not a rigid belief system. The state of research is extremely dynamic with new theories replacing older ones constantly. This makes it increasingly difficult for non-experts to understand scientific findings. Hence, communication is key. We are convinced that effective science communication plays a central role in our participative liberal democracy.
We demand compulsory science communication modules in every bachelor’s and master’s degree, as well as a widespread provision of workshops aimed at postgraduate researchers. Secondly, we suggest European competitions that are directed not only at university students but at mixed teams of students and apprentices. Our third and final idea is an open access platform called ScienceBridgEU that offers AI-assisted summaries of research papers in different difficulties: for beginners and advanced readers.
We want European universities to collaborate to build bridges between scientists and the general public but also between researchers of different disciplines. “Utopie Europa” has inspired us to move beyond this event and our efforts to improve science communication shall continue within the EUGLOH Alliance.
Participants: Lena Rüschpler, Sinan Aydin, André Bembennek
Credit to other LSB members for their contribution: Anna Wagner, Eileen Röske
