Anouk Mesch Reflects on Her Journey as ‘Face of Science’: Importance of Science Communication and Future Plans

Anouk Mesch turned a year ago selection to ‘Face of Science’. Her term is now almost coming to an end. ‘This process made me understand the importance of science communication.’

Every year, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) selects twelve PhD students as the Face of Science. For a year, they give us an insight into their work as scientists and thus ‘face science’. Anouk Mesch (Education and Learning Science & Consumption and Healthy Lifestyle) shared her first blog about this time last year.

What is your job as the Face of Science?

“As Faces of Science we contribute to communication about science for young people, especially high school students. We want to spread our knowledge, but also to clarify the image of a scientist: a scientist is not always someone in a lab coat.’

How did you do that?

“We made blogs and vlogs for the NEMO knowledge link, and took turns maintaining an Instagram account in which we showed our work as scientists for a week. We also helped with motivation evenings for teachers and we were heard on the radio and in podcasts, for example.’

In addition to these information activities, the KNAW uses us when there is a demand for experts on a specific subject and they want someone other than the usual names. In this way they want to give a platform to young scientists.’

What did you learn from it?

“We have had several training courses over the past year – how to stand on stage, how to look natural and how to explain briefly and clearly what the your research. As a scientist you have a lot of space in articles to describe your research, but in a blog or presentation it needs to be short and concise. And especially on social media: you have to be able to explain something in one image or in three words.’

What type of science communication suits you best?

‘I like talking to people the most. That suits me better than just ‘put’. My PhD path LYRICS it is also about students and their teachers, so the communication I have with that target group through Face of Science is also very valuable for that. When I’m at the secondary school to collect data, I can also talk to the students about their ideas about science.’

And now?

“This process has definitely made me realize the importance of science communication. It is your duty as a scientist to keep knowledge to yourself. It would be good if young people were encouraged to think about communication while doing a PhD or training.’

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