I, Expert: Media competence for science through linguistics
The project “I, Expert: Media competence for science through linguistics" part of the 2024 DAAD program “Higher Education Dialogue with South Europe” brings together researchers in English and Digital Linguistics at Chemnitz University of Technology and researchers in science communication at the University of Zaragoza, Spain. The project aims to promote language awareness in science communication so that researchers can disseminate their results credibly and citizens can digest them effectively.
Scientific content requires special media competencies both on the part of the scientists as authors and the citizens as receivers. Science communication builds on the common trust in science, which is based on beliefs in the competence, integrity, and good will of scientists. However, with the advent of accessible generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, anyone can create credible-sounding texts and simulate expertise – with potentially damaging consequences. The various forms of misinformation and disinformation in the digital media pose a challenge to society in both Germany and Spain. Analysing the language of science communication can help to distinguish disinformation from credible science journalism.
To address these issues, the partners will carry out a conference in Chemnitz (7-8 October 2024) and a summer school in Zaragoza (19-21 November 2024). Students, doctoral candidates, and researchers will discuss what constitutes the different genres of science communication and how these genres advance (or threaten) media competence. In addition, the partners will create and publish a collection of annotated best practice examples for common genres of science communication such as a press release, a tweet, or a lay summary. In this way, the project aims to make the language of science communication more accessible and promote media competence for science through linguistics.
Conference in Chemnitz (7-8 October 2024)
The "I, Expert" conference at Chemnitz University of Technology promotes the scientific dialogue on the latest research findings of the partners from Chemnitz and Zaragoza. The participants will report on topics such as recontextualisation in science communication, the discourse of different genres of science communication and their own experiences in science communication. Students and young scientists will also present their research projects and receive valuable feedback. In a workshop, the participants will draw up a list of genres in science communication and characterise these genres. The list will be used to create the best practice collection during the summer school.
Interested PhD students and researchers should send an abstract (about 200 words) by 15 August 2024 to Marina Ivanova at marina.ivanova@…
Summer School in Zaragoza (19-21 November 2024)
The "I, Expert" summer school at the University of Zaragoza brings together bachelor's, master's and doctoral students as well as researchers from Chemnitz and Zaragoza. We will discuss positive examples of science communication and develop criteria for assessing the quality of science communication. We will then use these criteria to create and annotate a collection of best practices in science communication and publish them on the project website and the version control platform GitHub. Participants will gain practical insights into science communication from a local perspective in a meeting with the university's press office.
Please send a letter of motivation (about 500-1000 words) describing your connection to the topic of the summer school and a discussion of a good example of science communicaton by 31 October 2024 to Marina Ivanova at marina.ivanova@…
Annotated collection of science communication texts
The collection will be published after the Summer School in Zargoza.