The Section Issue 2

The

SECtion

Intersection Study Association Newsletter

Editorial note

First one down, three to go!

By: Robbert van Leeuwen InterSECtion president

Issue

2

Nov/11

Contents > Insights from a professional time juggler Page 2 Mastering the Master Page 3 Congress review COMM4BIOTECH

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News and Events Page 5 Confessions from a Science Education PhD Page 6 Last week, the first period seemed to be washed away by the bad weather and cold, wet weather heralded the start of the second period. I hope you all had a fabulous start of this study year, a successful exam week (if any exams at all), and off course a lot of fun doing what you are doing. At least I know I did, and I know we as SEC students did!

We finished a great Crash Case, had nice drinks, had some well visited course evaluations (please register next time!), convinced a lot of students to subscribe to the SEC master at the masterevent and went to Strasbourg for a biotech communication conference.

The coming period we will have more fun activities and important milestones. We are starting a book sale via our webpage, celebrate Sinterklaas, Christmas and the start of a new year and off course continue everything we currently already do.

In this SECtion, you’ll find information about past events, dates of upcoming events and though we keep on looking for more, luckily more Science Education related articles.

Enjoy the coming quarter, make the best of it and drop by at our office or on our activities now and then!.

*The InterSECtion newsletter is a publication by the Study Association of the Master in Science Education and Communication at Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands.

Science communication... in that other low country Page 7

Staff >

Board: Robbert van Leeuwen President

Natalia Rodriguez Secretary

Robin Vermeij Treasurer

Design and Edition: Natalia Rodriguez Contributors: Merel Segers Robin Vermeij Pat Hong Jorn van Schaik Freek Pools

Contact > Room F154 Building 22 Lorentzweg 1 2628 CJ Delft The Netherlands board@sa-intersection.nl www.sa-intersection.nl

The

Student Article

SECtion

Insights from a professional time juggler By: Merel Segers My brain became tired a month ago and demanded some stupid job to relax. So, I took a job. Not too stupid (it's actually a pretty cool job), but there are still days where I have to sit behind Excel sheets and analyse data from 9 to 5. For the brain excel sheets work like a spa treatment with a cocktail in the left hand. Genius [I hope] insights come to me during the breaks of my work when my relaxed brain decides to work for a bit.

Since the beginning of this academic year I'm proud to call myself a professional time juggler. I believe this is a very important skill and I want to use this page in The SECtion to create awareness for this sometimes overlooked and underappreciated skill. What are the latest ins and outs of the time juggling business?

Get a job to relax Does your brain hurt after a day studying? Get a job! This year I started my graduation project and thought naively: "I will not work next to my project, I will only study and this will make my results better". NOT! Ok, a warning because this might be only the case for me, but the more things that are on my brain, the better I function. Unfortunately, becoming a grown-up person [this is so scary to write down by the way] means that I don't have boytrouble anymore to distract me, insecurities to be scared of or the need to go partying hard and having a huge hangover next day to combine with my study work. Maybe you think this makes me function better? Nope, for me it doesn't. I need distractions in order to handle my graduation process.

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The thing that pushed me over the ridge was the braintiredness I experienced after a day graduation work; there is some hardcore thinking involved with the graduating process.

Another cool thing of a job is all the ego stroking that takes place. I sometimes need a pet on my head, somebody who says: Merel, you're doing a good job. At my job this happens, I work on a short term project, I do good, and I get my reward (Good job Merel!). For my graduation research the end lies somewhere far in the future, it's difficult to accept a pet on the head for something that you didn't finish yet.

Don't forget the fun stuff Another really important thing of a good time juggler is that he or she should NEVER forget to do the fun stuff. Stephen R Covey is apparently some genius time manager and he talks about sharpening your saw in his book "the 7 habits of highly effective people" [By the way, I'm half effective, I'm halfway through the book]. Picture yourself being a saw. Serious activities that you need to do (for instance finishing your research proposal) make you as a saw blunt, while activities you do to relax (like playing football) makes you sharp. A sharp saw works better [duh]. So, having just 24 hours a day (and I sleep at least 8 hours), I really need to juggle my time to make sure I still do the fun stuff that keeps me going, while still producing results for the serious stuff.

Prevent your head from blowing up One last thing, I do hope I don't overdo the time juggling thing and make my head explode. So please, my dear SECtion readers, if you ever catch me running around with a round red head, steam coming from my ears producing a loud PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF sound, please say: Merel, relax, the world will not perish if you sit down and do nothing for an hour.

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Graduating students

Mastering the master By: Pat Hong Dear students, If you have one of the symptoms listed below: - You don’t remember the last time that you ate because having a filled cup of coffee is all what matters - You are fully addicted to EVERYTHING ELSE except your master thesis - You are easily provoked, sensitive and vulnerable to hear words like ‘literature review’, ‘thesis writing’, ‘defence’, ‘board of examiners’, and etc.

- You trip over clothes on the bedroom floor (at this point you are not sure which ones are clean and which ones are dirty), your fridge is empty and the sink is piled up with dishes from 2 days ago - You look at the stuffs you’ve just written and think: what’s all these crap? But the next day when you look at them you think: oh I am such a genius! –and then this similar cycle continues …then congratulations! You are definitely on your way to ‘master’ your master. Believe me, you will continue to develop amazing and unforeseen symptoms as you are approaching your deadlines. But don’t be scared. There are antidotes I’m about to share will help you: Bitch about your master thesis Remember, you are not alone in this- approximately there are 6000 master students at TU Delft every year. So bitch about your master thesis: to your friends, your family, and study mates. Better, bitch about your projects TOGETHER. I found it really helpful when I realized that my struggles & turmoil were minor compared to what happened to some of my friends: friend A lost his Matlab files; friend B had to change her entire focus of the research because her supervisor decided to withdraw from the research project…And talking and listening really makes you feel better- once you developed a shared bonding with other master students over victories or miseries on each of your battle fields.

It’s perfectly ok to be distracted sometimes The first time I found myself being addicted to Angry Birds and also loads of TV series I was totally shocked. What was I doing, spending hours on killing monkey and pigs, or watching House & Big Bang Theory, when I still have my methodology chapter untouched? But then I realized that I did need the distractions to release me of stress and anxiety, especially when I was feeling quite defeated by the zero progress during some weeks. Being distracted once in a while actually helps your brain get some rests and you will find yourself energized again.

Simply walk away sometimes For workaholics: you really need to GET OUT of your research for a while and simply walk away from your piles of unfinished readings or drafts once in a while. It’s not healthy sitting all day in the lab or study room feeling stressful and tired. The moment that you realized you are staring at the same page for over 30 minutes you need to drop whatever you are doing: go and get a little bit tipsy over drinks, go watch a cliché movie (I found Kung Fu Panda 2 very inspiring), go check out the hot zumba instructor or curvy chics in the gym, or lie down on the grass in the Mekel Park (when it’s sunny).

Networking I discovered that master thesis project also gives you lots of opportunities for networking. If you are conducting your research within a company or organization, it opens a lot of doors for you to meet experts and learn from your colleagues. And don’t consider your interviewees for your research just subjects of study: get to know them! Who knows? They could be your potential employers or clients in the future.

Well, it may seem like a long & tedious journey towards reaching the ‘holy grail’, but trust me, it will be over before you know it. And however weird this might sound: you will surely miss it when you finally signed your master diploma and look back on this journey.

So good luck and may the Force be with you!

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Study Trip

SECtion

Congress review – COMM4BIOTECH, Strasbourg By: Robin Vermeij

Picture by: Melissa Asrianti

Golden Rice, stem cell research, red biotechnology and an endless list of GMOs, they were all present at the communication for biotechnology congress called Comm4biotech in Strasbourg on the 18th and 19th of November. Biotechnology is the science that can be seen as the engineering of biological systems and organisms. An important part in this field of study are genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. Keynote speakers from research and industry presented their view on the need of science communication of GMOs and biotechnology in general.

We left very early on the cold and dark Friday morning with a long drive awaiting us. In the beginning of the afternoon, after an unplanned one-hour sightseeing tour through the beautiful centre of Strasbourg, we finally arrived at the Pôle A.P.I. congress building. The conference took off with two keynote speakers, one about communication challenges the other about ethics in the field of science from a European Union perspective. After this, we resumed with several workshops on how to use science communication in the field of biotechnology, ranging from education for high-school pupils to twittering research results.

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A very nice thing about the conference was its active nature; instead of just listening to talks, we listened and discussed what was said, sharing ideas and forming a shared knowledge base.

One of the main focuses was to answer the question how to get GMOs accepted by the public in Europe. Currently, the production of them is banned in most of Europe due to the work of various opposing groups like Greenpeace, questionable communication and a general public that is either not caring or just not willing to accept and demand GMOs. Since communication and emotions play such an important role in this debate, we, as science communication experts to be, took an active role in the discussion. We tried to give the attending scientist and (PhD) students new insights into communication. The conclusions were remarkable: it was acknowledged that providing more information did not equal a more favourable attitude of the public (while this deficit model is currently used). We really got the feeling that we made the biotechnologists realize the way communication is done right now has to change and that we gave them some clues on the ‘how to’ of this.

At the end we realized there are great and interesting communication challenges to overcome in the field of biotechnology. And as a science communicator, you can really make a difference, even though you are not an expert in GMOs itself. Besides this, we also realized that going to such a conference is just a fun and informative experience you don’t want to miss!

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News and Events

Book Discount!!!

Starting in February, InterSECtion will facilitate the sales of SEC study books via a webshop.

Together with Study Store, our partner in this, we will offer both Dutch and English study books. You will get a discount of 10% (for the Dutch books the highest possible discount due to Dutch laws) and do not have to pay for sending!

To order, visit our (somewhat outdated) website www.sa-intersection.nl and click on the webshop logo. Order the books, pay them online and collect them at the InterSECtion office (F154).

We will communicate the various deadlines for ordering since these are generally quite soon.

Study Store will then make sure the books will be there on time.

The first round of ordering (for the third period) was already announced on the Education Blackboard community, and runs until the 12th of December. Only the education master students need a book for the third period.

Schoen Zetten Wondering what’s the next InterSECtion event?

On Tuesday December 6th we will have the last event of the year and off course the InterSECtion board is preparing a nice Sinterklaas evening for all SEC students.

Remember to go to the InterSECtion office that day to put a shoe and sing a song. Maybe Sinterklaas will drop by that evening and you will find something sweet the next morning!!!!

Also, keep December 14th free for a dinner.

More details will follow soon.

Innovation Convention Brussels, Belgium 5,6 December, 2011 The European Commission is holding its first Innovation Convention.

This major event will gather more than 1200 participants involved in the innovation chain, including high-level policy makers, CEOs, Deans of universities and research centres, bankers, venture capitalists, top researchers and innovators.

The programme includes master classes and round tables on innovation, an interactive panel debate with global innovation players and the award of the Women Innovators Prize.

PCST and Ecsite Discounts

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dandy_lions

The 12th International Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST 2012) conference heads to Florence, Italy, 18-20 April, 2012. Ecsite’s Annual Conference (Ecsite 2012) takes place May 31 to June 2, 2012, in Toulouse, France.

PCST and Ecsite are each offering a 10% full conference fee discount for those attending both PCST and Ecsite Annual Conference.

For more visit:

information

www.pcst2012.org

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Science Education

SECtion

Confessions from a Science Education PhD By: Freek Pools “There is too little time”, one would think if he or she hears what keeps me off the streets. First of all I'm a full time teacher in 's-Gravenzande, a small town between The Hague and Hoek van Holland. Here I am responsible for eight different classes two of them being final years. Next to teaching I am responsible for the section as a whole, in Dutch: sectievoorzitter (section chair).

When I started working as a teacher I was interested in the possibilities of doing a PhD next to teaching. I went to Marc de Vries to find out if there was a position available. Unfortunately there were no possibilities to do a PhD on full time basis but maybe the school was willing to give me hours to do research. Luckily, the school was willing to do so and here I am, one-and-a-half year later.

It is difficult to schedule the hours. When one comes home after teaching, there is still work to be done: preparing the lessons for the next days, reviewing the tests, but also housekeeping. Last year I put many hours into my research, resulting in a 60 hour workweek and almost no social life. Fortunately I found a better combination between work, research and social life.

My research is about the Interactive White Board (IWB) in science education. Many schools just buy the boards but don’t know how to make use of the many available options. In the research project I do not only investigate the possibilities to use the IWB in science education but also the educational effects: what are the learning effects when a teacher makes use of the IWB. There are many difficulties in the research project: How does one measure learning effects? What are learning effects? What does one keep constant and what changes? In physics these questions most of the time are easy to understand and to answer, but working with humans this is more difficult. Therefore this research project gives much satisfaction: To be challenged in which your experience is limited.

Communication with my supervisor is very important. Often there is a lack of working spirit, but after each meeting I get a new boost of energy is given, new ideas and questions to think about. For the next five years, you will not find me wandering on the streets with nothing to do….

Education News In order to improve education, the Dutch government wants to reward the performance of teachers. By providing financial or budgetary incentives, the government hopes to motivate teachers to excel in their profession.

Needless to say this results in some important and essential questions. What makes a ‘good teacher’? And how to measure this? And what would be the best incentive?

In order to answer these questions, the government created some subsidies for schools to run pilots. These pilots will start already this year and will be expanded in the coming year.

For more information and to apply for the subsidy, see www.prestatiebeloninginhetonderwijs.nl.

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SEC Students

Science communication... In that other low country By: Jorn van Schaik It's the eighteenth of July, the first day of my new internship in Brussels, Belgium. There's a key to my office at the Flemish Parliament in the locker just down the hall. I open the door and I see stacks of papers, articles and files on my newly installed desk. My supervisor was on holiday, so a colleague drops in to welcome me.

This is your new office for the next seven weeks.

Here's a library's worth of reading material, ready to go. Your supervisor isn't coming in for the first week, are you going to be fine with dealing all this reading material until then? I just nod my head and think to myself “if this ever gets finished, I'll award myself a gold star and a jellybaby, just for the effort”. It looks like I've got an important job to do, but I don't know yet just how important it will be.

I open up the first article, and read the words “Technology Assessment”. It's a field most people haven't really heard of. But, since I do, I'll share the story: what I was about to embark on scientific research for what is called the “Instituut voor Samenleving en Technologie” (Institute for Society and Technology). Their job is to study science policy in the form of Technology Assessment (TA), and through that research advise the Flemish Parliament. But since TA has started to heavily rely on dialogue and other communicational techniques, they've wanted to do a project with the TU Delft for a good while now. That was my task in Belgium.

One important impression I got is that the big common ground between TA and what we call science communication is that the former basically uses the latter. Let me clarify: TA researches what effects innovation and technology have on society. To do this, they communicate with stakeholders from various parts of society. They've been developing models based on dialogue; a typical science communication process! Even in some more distant fields, science communication is essential to make processes function, also on a governmental level.

When I got back after these seven weeks, I finished up writing everything, made it look neat and all that. I send it off to the people that matter. And a few weeks ago, I get informed that the Institute I worked for... is no more. It will cease to exist by January 1, 2013. Science communication in Belgium: it's clearly at the mercy of politicians. The irony is that the EU frameworks programmes are trying to encourage TA implementation in its member states; Belgium is actually regressing in that sense.

So, I'm going to end this article with a plea to all of Belgium: please, do you actually want science policy to work? These are the institutions that make it possible for you to fund things like cancer research, nanotechnology applications, medical isotope production... the list is endless, but it's one that saves lives. I am sure science policy will surface again in Belgium, but it looks like in some parts of the world, our field needs a little bit of development. We're the ones making sure people understand the value of what scientists do and help the rest of us understand why this world works the way it does. This is important in this day and age: there are still countries where people do not know the first thing about science. Even in Belgium. And we're still responsible for putting that knowledge out there.

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The

SECtion Here you can have a sneak peek of the study trip to the COMM4BIOTECH conference in Strasbourg. SEC students and Alumni (Melissa Asrianti who took this amazing pictures) learned but also enjoyed a lot this event, a very nice opportunity to get into the field but also travel and visit a new city. Hope you can join us too in our next study trip!

COMM4BIOTECH