Tweet or Perish: Science Communication – Career Boost or Waste of Time?

The requirements for a successful academic career are already plentiful and overwhelming for many: designing and conducting experiments, publishing research results, supervising, teaching and acquiring funding. However, most recently, communicating your research to a public audience appears to be another box that needs to be ticked as the final touch to your resumé or to fulfill your grant conditions. But what exactly is Science Communication and is it really yet another requirement for a present-day academic career? Should you be active on Social Media to be a more successful academic or is it a colossal hype bubble feeding on your precious time?

Dr. Theresa Schredelseker, molecular biologist, science blogger and coordinator for Postdocs at PIER, the partnership between DESY and Universität Hamburg, is trying to give some answers in this talk.