Welcome to ComSciCon 2017!
We are excited to annouce the 5th annual ComSciCon National Workshop, happening June 8th-10th, 2017 in Cambridge, MA!
The program for this year’s workshop is available here.
Follow us on Twitter (@comscicon), and tweet with the hashtag #comscicon17 !
For more information, please contact comscicon17@comscicon.org or sign-up for our informational email list.
About ComSciCon 2017
Acceptance to the workshop is competitive; attendance is free, and travel support and lodging will be provided to accepted applicants.
At ComSciCon’s National Workshop, participants build communication skills that scientists and other technical professionals need to express ideas to their peers, experts in other fields, and the general public.
This year, there will be panel discussions on the following topics:
- Media and Journalism
- Science Advocacy
- Digital Storytelling
- Diversity in Science Communication
- Story Collider
In addition to these discussions, ample time is allocated for networking with science communication experts and developing science outreach collaborations with fellow graduate students. Workshop participants will produce an original piece of science writing and receive feedback from workshop attendees and professional science communicators, including journalists, authors, public policy advocates, educators, and more.
Founded in 2013 by graduate students at Harvard University and MIT, over 500 graduate students nationwide have already participated in ComSciCon programs, including our annual National Workshops and Local Workshops which have been started by ComSciCon alumni across the country. Attendees have founded new science communication organizations in collaboration with other students at the event, published over 80 articles written at the conference in popular publications with national impact, and formed lasting networks with our student alumni and invited experts.
ComSciCon is dedicated to a harassment-free conference experience for everyone. Our anti-harassment policy can be found here.
ComSciCon 2017 is sponsored by Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Colorado Boulder, HHMI / Tangled Bank Studios, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical Society, the American Astronomical Society, the Optical Society, IOP Publishing, and the American Institute of Physics.
Apply to ComSciCon 2017
Applications for ComSciCon17 closed on March 1st, 2017. Results of the application process will be emailed in the first week of April.
If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact us at comscicon17@comscicon.org . For instant updates on future ComSciCon programming and events, subscribe to our mailing list on Google Groups.
Thank you for your interest in ComSciCon!
Program
PDF Program
Condensed Schedule
Full Schedule
THURSDAY June 8
8:30 Breakfast
9:00 Welcome
9:20 Media & Journalism panel
11:00 Science Advocacy panel
12:30 Lunch
1:20 Digital Storytelling panel sponsored by HHMI / Tangled Bank studios
3:00: Mock Interviews/academic-oriented workshop
4:00 Expert review/Writeathon + pitch slam
6:00 Careers dinner
7:15 Tangled Bank Screening
8:30 Return to dorms
FRIDAY June 9
8:30 Breakfast
9:00 Communicating about Diversity within Science panel
10:45 Diversity discussion
12:15 Lunch
1:15 Keynote – Ed Yong
2:30 Story Collider Panel/Workshop
6:00 Group Photo
6:30 Conference Banquet at Bergamot Restaurant in Somerville
SATURDAY June 10
8:30 Breakfast
9:00 How to run a local event/breakout time for discussion
10:30 Poster Session
12:00 Lunch
1:00 K-12 & Concurrent social media session
4:00 Closing remarks
Pre-Workshop Requirements
ComSciCon’s National Workshop is a highly interactive and cooperative event. For instance, several of the sessions include group workshopping of already-developed science communication pieces.
All accepted attendees to ComSciCon 2017 are expected to complete the following in advance of attending the workshop. Check back soon for additional details of each requirement.
Write-A-Thon
Through the “Write-A-Thon”, ComSciCon attendees develop science communication pieces (articles, videos, etc) and workshop them extensively with fellow attendees and science communication experts. Many of these pieces are later published in major science communication outlets.
Details / Submission: See Write-A-Thon Guidelines. Please share your Write-A-Thon submission as a Google Doc and share the link to writeathon2017@gmail.com .
Timeline:
- Monday May 15th: First draft due: 2-3 pages (<1000 words) written or ~5 minutes of multimedia
- Thursday May 18th: Peer editing groups assigned
- Thursday May 25th: Peer edits due
- Thursday June 1st: Revised draft due
- Thursday June 8th: Expert review at ComSciCon
E-Poster (Optional)
Details:
On June 10th, ComSciCon will feature a poster session highlighting the science outreach, communication, and social media activities of our attendees and several local SciComm organizations. This poster session will utilize ePosterboards, so you won’t need to print or transport a physical poster.
We are unfortunately not able to offer posters to all attendees, so we ask interested attendees to submit abstracts. You can see examples of successful abstracts from last year’s program below. Selected attendees will be invited to prepare an electronic poster before the workshop. We’ll let you know the status of your submission within a few days, so you have plenty of time to work on the poster.
Abstracts from last year’s program:
Submission:
For attendees with accepted posters, the guidelines for creating and submitting the ePosters can be found here. There is also a Youtube Channel with a number of short videos on creating and uploading your ePoster.
Please note that you should not plan on presenting from your own device. Your poster needs to be submitted no later than Friday June 2nd, through the EPosterboards website. There will soon be an option available on the website to select ComSciCon on the dropdown list of “Conference / Event”.
Timeline:
- Thursday May 4th: Short abstract due
- Friday June 2nd: Submit final electronic poster (selected attendees)
- Saturday June 10th: E-Posterboard Session
K-12 Session “Bite” (For attendees selected for the K-12 Session)
In the K-12 session graduate students will work with local area educators to learn how to develop content appropriate for a K-12 classroom setting. Graduate students participating in the K-12 session will be asked to write a 400-600 word “Bite” summarizing an exciting topic related to your research (it does not specifically have to be your research as long as it is in your field) in advance of the session. On the day of you will work with the educator to edit your “Bite” and translate it into a curriculum appropriate lesson plan. This year, we will be focusing on developing materials for high school students.
Details / Submission: To submit your K-12 Session document:
- Save your piece as a Google Doc, with the name format: FirstLast_LessonPlanTitle
- Upload it to this google drive folder. If you do not have a google enabled email address, please send your final piece to me at bitescis@gmail.com .
- Lastly, please fill in the corresponding spreadsheet with the appropriate details. To get a shareable link of your file, you will need to right click the document and select “get shareable link”.
Here are some sample lesson plans, for your reference: Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3
Timeline:
- Friday May 26th: Draft due – a few written paragraphs (400-600 words) plus brainstormed ideas for hands-on activities
- Saturday June 10th: Educator review at ComSciCon
Social Media Session (For attendees selected for the Social Media Session)
Attendees will not be required to prepare in advance, but there are a few things they can do if they’re feeling proactive. Attendees who are unfamiliar with Twitter but want to learn how to use it should think about signing up for an account. We would like to invite attendees to submit pitches for leading their own social media sessions (~1 hr total, with a focus on interactive/hands on approaches), if they have a particular platform or approach that they have found to be particularly effective. These pitches can be submitted to this Google form: http://bit.ly/SocialMediaWorkshopPitch.
Story Collider Piece
Details: Start keeping a list of ideas: reflect on your life, your career, and your science so far. What are you favorite anecdotes or stories you find yourself telling again and again? Make a note of those. Think about the biggest moments of change or big events in your life. It’s fine if you just write a bulleted list of prompts like:
- The time the cow knocked Molly into the reservoir and I saved her from drowning
- Learning the hard way that moray eels are almost impossible to kill
- Getting stranded in the high chief’s village
- The worst field trip ever (the other one)
- When the Christmas tree sent me to the emergency room
Evaluation Surveys
ComSciCon is interested in learning more about how best to improve science communication training. We evaluate our performance through surveys before, immediately following, and 6-months after the workshop.
Details: The pre-workshop survey is available here.
Timeline:
- Thursday June 1st: Complete pre-workshop survey
- Late June: Complete post-workshop survey
- Early 2018: Complete follow-up survey
Deposit and Paperwork
Attendees are required to submit a deposit ($50 check), which will be refunded (not deposited) following the workshop. We also require some basic paperwork (W9s, or equivalent for international attendees) to be submitted prior to the workshop to allow for reimbursement of travel expenses.
Timeline:
May 1st: Deadline for receipt of W9 / International forms
April 14th: Deadline for receipt of deposit
Harassment Policy
ComSciCon is dedicated to providing a safe, hospitable, and productive environment for everyone present, regardless of ethnicity, religion, ability, physical appearance, or gender. It’s important to remember that a conference where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one. Accordingly, ComSciCon prohibits intimidating, threatening, or harassing conduct during our conference. This policy applies to speakers, organizers, expert reviewers, and attendees.
Harassment of participants will not be tolerated in any form. Harassment includes:
- Offensive verbal or written comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religion, etc.
- Sexual images in public spaces
- Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following
- Harassing photography or recording
- Sustained disruption of talks or other events
- Inappropriate physical contact
- Unwelcome sexual attention
- Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behaviour
Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. If a participant engages in harassing behavior, ComSciCon organizers will take any action they deem appropriate, ranging from a verbal warning to expulsion from the conference.
ComSciCon organizers may take action to address any actions or behavior disrupting the conference or making the environment hostile for any participants. We expect participants to follow these rules at all conference events and ComSciCon-related social activities.
If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the conference staff immediately (in person, recognizable by our ComSciCon t-shirts, or by email).
We value your attendance, and want to make the conference experience as educational, productive, and fun as possible.
Travel and Venue
Venue
The June 2017 ComSciCon national workshop will be held at the Harvard Student Organization Center at Hilles (SOCH) at 59 Shepard St in Cambridge, MA, June 8-10th, 2017. For detailed directions, please see the SOCH website.
When you arrive, we will have a ComSciCon check-in booth inside the main entrance, where you can pick up a name badge and ComSciCon swag!
This view shows the entrance to the SOCH building, from Shepard Street, in Google Street View:
Getting to Cambridge
By Plane
Cambridge is served by Boston Logan International Airport. The trip from Logan to Cambridge is roughly 20 minutes by taxi or 40 minutes by public transportation (the T). To travel by T, take the Silver Line bus from the airport to South Station and then transfer to the Red Line subway. Take the Red Line “inbound” towards Alewife. See directions below for accessing the workshop accomodations and venue from the subway.
By Train
Trains into Boston stop at South Station, Back Bay, and North Station. To travel by subway (the T) from South Station, take the Red Line “inbound” towards Alewife and get off at the Harvard Square Station. From Back Bay or North Station, first take the Green Line “inbound” toward Park Street and then transfer to the Red Line (see above). See directions below for accessing the workshop accomodations and venue from the subway.
Boston & Cambridge Public Transportation
Please check the MBTA website for bus and subway schedules.
Accommodations
For non-local attendees, a single occupancy room will be provided free of charge in the Harvard graduate dormitories the nights of June 7-10th. Rooms will be in Richards Hall, located at 24 Everett St, Cambridge, MA. Upon your arrival in Cambridge, please check in at the dormitory (after noon on Wednesday, June 7th), where members of our organizing committee will be ready to check you in.
For panelists and speakers, a room will be provided at the Harvard Square Hotel, located at 110 Mount Auburn St, Cambridge. This is a short walk from the Harvard Square station (see second map below).
Travel from Boston Logan Airport:
Get on the Silver Line bus (SL-2) at your terminal. The bus only goes in one direction and is free of charge. At South Station, you will transfer to the subway (you don’t need to leave the station or pay). Follow the signs to the Red Line subway, and take the inbound train, towards Alewife. Disembark at Harvard Square station.
To walk to Richards Hall, see the map below and follow these walking directions. Cross Harvard Yard to reach the Science Center quad. Continue past, with the Science Center on your right, until you pass the Law School library on your left. Turn right after the library, and you will see the GSAS Dorms and Richards Hall.
Travel from South Station: Most long-distance trains and buses arrive at South Station. The train station separate is separate from the subway, so you will need to pay ($2.50) to enter. Follow the signs to the T and get on the Red Line towards Alewife. Follow the walking directions from Harvard Square station described above.
Travel to the Workshop Venue
The Harvard SOCH building is located about a 10 minute walk from the Richards Hall dorm, and a 15 minute walk from the Harvard Square Hotel.
Parking
Parking at the workshop is available at the nearby Observatory Lot, located at 60 Garden St (corner of Garden St and Linnean). Parking passes are required for all days of the workshop, so if you will be driving to the workshop, please contact the organizers at comscicon17@comscicon.org and let us know what days you will need a pass for.
ComSciCon 