Welcome
The 8th annual ComSciCon Flagship Workshop will take place virtually June 11th-13th, 2020!
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For more information, please contact comscicon20@comscicon.org or sign-up for our informational email list.
Acceptance to the workshop is competitive; attendance is free, and travel support and lodging will be provided to accepted applicants.
About ComSciCon 2020
At ComSciCon’s Flagship 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.
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, MIT, and the University of Colorado at Boulder, nearly 2000 graduate students nationwide have already participated in ComSciCon programs, including our annual Flagship Workshops and Franchise Workshops which have been started by ComSciCon alumni across the US and Canada. 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.
Sponsors
We are grateful to all ComSciCon’s terrific sponsors who are making our 2020 Flagship event possible. Those include the Harvard Faculty of Arts & Sciences, MIT Office of Graduate Education, American Astronomical Society, American Chemical Society, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, University of Maryland Online Certificate Program in Science Communication, Science Careers, and our fiscal sponsor Community Initiatives. Lastly, we thank Emerson College, which had been set to host our in-person event – their team has been terrific to work with and we regret that we cannot join them in person this year.
Apply to ComSciCon-Flagship 2020
Applications for ComSciCon 2020 are now closed. Please stay tuned for applications to next year’s Flagship workshop, which will open in January of 2021.
Those who have been accepted to attend ComSciCon 2021 will be notified no later than June 9, 2021.
Eligibility
Attendance at ComSciCon is limited to current (or recently graduated) graduate students in residence at US or Canadian institutions. International students who study at US and Canadian institutions are gladly welcomed. We unfortunately cannot accept students traveling to this event from outside the US or Canada. Recent graduates must have graduated no earlier than December 2019.
The application closes Sunday, March 1st 2020.
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 2020 are expected to complete the following in advance of attending the workshop. This list shows examples from the previous year, as the final list for 2020 has not yet been finalized. 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: More details will be available as the conference approaches.
Poster (Optional)
Details:
ComSciCon 2020 will feature a poster session highlighting the science outreach, communication, and social media activities of our attendees and several local SciComm organizations.
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 a previous year’s program. 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.
Timeline:
- Early May: Short abstract due
- Late May: Submit final poster (selected attendees)
- At ComSciCon 2020: Poster Session
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 will be available upon acceptance to ComSciCon 2020.
Timeline:
- 2 weeks prior to conference: Complete pre-workshop survey
- Late June: Complete post-workshop survey
- Late 2020: 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.
More information on the reimbursement paperwork will be available upon acceptance to ComSciCon 2020.
Workshop Program and Logistical Information
Schedule
Thursday, 6/11/20
12pm ET
12pm-12:15pm Welcome to ComSciCon!
12:15pm-12:30pm Icebreakers
12:30pm – 1:30pm Panel 1: Science Communication in the Era of COVID-19
15 MINUTE BREAK
1:45pm-2:45pm Empathy and Communities Workshop
2:45pm-3:45pm EPoster Session/Icebreaker (via Zoom with “rooms” – 2 sections of 30 minutes)
15 MINUTE BREAK
4:00pm-5:00pm Theater/Improv Skills Workshop
15 MINUTE BREAK
5:15pm-6:15pm Expert Review / Write-A-Thon + Pitch-Slam (via Zoom with breakout “rooms” – 45min and 15 for pitches)
Non-official virtual happy hour
Friday, 6/12/20
12pm-1pm Panel 2: IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility)
15 MINUTE BREAK
1:15pm-1:30pm Pop Talks (12 people)
1:30pm-2:30pm Data Visualization Workshop
15 MINUTE BREAK
2:45pm-3:00pm Pop Talks (13 people)
3:00pm-4:00pm Keynote Presentation: Mary Poffenroth
15 MINUTE BREAK
4:15pm-5:15pm Panel 3: SciComm Jobs/Work-Life Balance/Mental Health
ComSciCon Game Night
Saturday, 6/13/20
12:00pm-12:30pm ComSciCon Informational Session
12:30pm-1:30pm Creative Writing Workshop
15 MINUTE BREAK
1:45pm-2:00pm Pop Talks (13 people)
2:00pm-3:00pm Zines/Comics/GIFs Workshop
15 MINUTE BREAK
3:15pm-3:30pm Pop Talks (12 people)
3:30pm-4:30pm BiteScis
Closing Remarks
Code of Conduct
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 behavior
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.
ComSciCon 