9 June 2022

Four current and prospective PhD candidates at CREST – Marnell Kirsten, Lili Rademan, Ntsiki Sackey, and Lali van Zuydam – will be travelling to Venice in September 2022 to participate in a graduate seminar on science communication at Venice International University. The theme of the seminar is ‘Science Communication Today: Challenges and Opportunities in the SDGs Era’ and it is taking place from 12 to 16 September 2022. Dr Marina Joubert, senior lecturer at CREST, is one of the invited presenters at this seminar.

The five-day seminar is led by Venice International University (Italy), Stellenbosch University (South Africa), University of Padua (Italy), KU Leuven (Belgium) and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Italy).

Dr Joubert will be leading the following sessions at the seminar:

  • Introducing science communication as a field of research: its evolution and where it is now
  • Moving towards ‘evidence-based’ science communication or ‘the science of what makes people care’
  • Reflecting on COVID-19: the good, the bad and the ugly. What have we learned, what will we do better/differently when a pandemic strikes again? (presented with Stellenbosch University students)

Lali, Marnell, Ntsiki are currently completing their proposals to undertake their PhD studies at CREST. Lili is a registered CREST student and is investigating pseudoscience in cancer reporting in the South African online news media for her PhD thesis.

The Venice International University Graduate Seminar on Science Communication Today will take place from 12 to 16 September 2022. Credit: Venice International University.