Work, family, and a busy schedule! Science communication for 30+
On May 17, 2023, from 14:00-16:00, the panel discussion "Work, family, and a busy schedule! How to spark interest in science and research among the 30+ target group" will take place. The event language is German.
Science influences our lives every day and yet a considerable number of people seem to be unaware of it. According to the Science Barometer Austria 2022, a survey conducted by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), 62% of respondents aged 16 and older think that science and research do not play an important role in their everyday lives. The question of how interest can be awakened in the general population and how trust in science and research can be strengthened is of concern to numerous (research) institutions - not least because of the Eurobarometer 2021 survey, which was not very encouraging for Austria. Theoreticians and practitioners are working on (new) approaches and formats for different segments of the population in the field of science communication.
Children and young people can still be addressed well through schools, young adults partly through their educational institutions. But it becomes more difficult with people who are not pursuing further education. How can people who are in the middle of their careers and/or starting a family, or who are faced with busy schedules, be reached? How and where can they be exposed to scientific knowledge or approached as part of research projects? Which communication and outreach efforts work well, which less so?
During a panel discussion, these and other questions will be reflected on with the help of practical examples with experts from different fields and institutions. Concrete initiatives will provide insights into how to reach out to people outside of schools and educational institutions and bring them into contact with research.
In a panel discussion, these and other questions will be reflected on with the help of practical examples with experts from different areas and institutions. Concrete initiatives will provide insights into how people outside schools and educational institutions can be addressed and brought into contact with research.
Guests at the podium
- Angelika Purin has been working at the Jewish Museum Hohenems since 2012 and is the head of cultural communication. Her areas of responsibility include the conception of museum educational programs and didactic material and the implementation of projects in the field of outreach. Some of the formats are aimed specifically at families and the 30+ target group.
- Werner Gruber has been head of physics education at Sigmund Freud PrivatUniversität since 2014. From 2013 to 2022, he was director of the Planetarium of the City of Vienna and the Kuffner and Urania Observatories. As research coordinator for the province of Burgenland, Werner Gruber has been responsible for the Science Village Talks initiative since 2021, in which researchers give talks and engage in conversation with citizens in inns, community cellars, sports centers, etc. in various communities in Burgenland.
- Michael Schöppl is project manager at the ScienceCenter Network association. He studied Communication Science at the University of Salzburg and Visual Communication at the FH Joanneum Graz. Currently Michael Schöppl is leading the two projects "Escapebox Ocean Eye" - an innovative escape game on the topic of microplastics and sustainability as well as "Und mittendrin, die Wissenschaft" - in the context of this initiative residents and scientists of Vienna's districts 21 and 22 meet to experience science together.
- Michael Knoflach has been Associate Professor at the Medical University of Innsbruck since 2016 and Medical Advisor at the COMET Center "Research Centre on Clinical Stroke Research" of the FFG since 2021. Since 2022, he has also been project leader of the Sparkling Science project YOUhealTH on the topic of "Health Promotion of School children", which also aims to contribute to raising awareness of a healthy lifestyle among the parents of young people.