Stand up for Science: Practical Approaches to Discussing Science that Matters

Learn More About ComSciCon

ComSciCon is a national workshop series organized by graduate students, for graduate students, focused on leadership and training in science communication. Our goal is to empower young scientists to become ambassadors for their field, propagating research results to broad and diverse audiences and organizing others to amplify the message.  

Graduate students are the broad base of the scientific research endeavor. The scientific community must incorporate graduate students as an integral part of our public face, demonstrating the impacts of our work and the potential that STEM careers offer.  The ComSciCon workshops and affiliated programs form a platform that expands opportunities for graduate students to prepare for, participate in, and lead meaningful and impactful work in science outreach and communication through written and multimedia products like our *bites family of websites (see e.g. http://astrobites.org/), live programming (see e.g. outreach events affiliated with our workshops), and formal and informal education (see e.g. out BiteScis program).

The ComSciCon national workshop plays a central role in convening talented and highly motivated graduate science communicators from across the country each year.  Participants in ComSciCon’s national workshop come equipped with exceptional achievement in science communication and an entrepreneurial spirit, and they are provided with resources and a support network for taking action on their ideas. Our national workshop serves as an incubator for new models of science communication. 

While communication to peers, researchers in other fields, and the general public is a critical skill in the practice of science, most graduate programs do not provide formal training in or otherwise emphasize communication.  Using a sustainable and proven graduate student leadership model, ComSciCon seeks to serve graduate students nationwide.  The ComSciCon regional and specialized workshop series provides training, experiences, and leadership opportunities in technical communication to hundreds of graduate students per year.  

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