This comprehensive communication training will enable you to visually communicate your complex research ideas and results so your messages are effortlessly understood by any target audience (scientists or non-scientists). We will not focus on aesthetics but you will understand how human visual perception works and how visual strategies and design approaches can be used to create effective scientific images, posters, and slides. You will design a graphical abstract of your research, discuss it with peer scientists in a group exercise, and get actionable advice and feedback on your own images and slides. This is an immersive training, structured, easy to follow, memorable, useful, and fun.
The training is offered as blended learning that combines a self-study module, useful homework and a live online workshop.
Self-study via an online platform (12-month access)
- Communicating with scientific vs non-scientific audiences
- Visual perception and what humans find intuitive
- Layout: simplifying comprehension through a structured layout
- Eye-flow: effortlessly guide the audience through the design
- Colors: how to amplify, not ‘fancify’
- Typography: for legibility, structure and aesthetics
- Slides that amplify messages and don't distract when presenting
- Posters: strategy and process for creating posters that attract and explain
- Homework: you send your visual materials (images & slides) to the trainer for feedback
Live Online Workshop (self-study module completion mandatory) - you join the trainer on Zoom
- Recap and Q&A: an effective review of self-study topics and optional 1-on-1 consulting with facilitator to address your individual challenges. Everyone receives suggestions on how to improve their own communication
- Feedback on submitted materials: you will get actionable suggestions on how to improve your own images and slides
- Graphical abstract drawing exercise: you will draw a sketch of your research
- Group peer-instruction exercise: we make groups so everyone learns to give and receive informed feedback to peers.
Time schedule
- Video course: you watch ~5 hours of recorded lectures on the Seyens online platform before attending the live workshop. You can learn anywhere, anytime, at their own pace and the course is required for the live workshop.
- Live Webinar (~4.5h): alternatively/additionally, you can attend an interactive half-day Zoom webinar that the trainer runs for multiple institutions at the same time.
- Live Online Workshop (~4.5h): This part is reserved for GSLS to assure confidentiality of participants’ intellectual property.
The Trainer
Dr. Jernej Zupanc, Founder of Seyens Ltd.
“My goal is to help scientists effectively communicate your ideas and findings and make an impact with your research. Teaching and communication are my professional passions. I read and study eclectically and am always looking for approaches from different fields that can be easily applied by scientists. I distill the principles and practices into easy to understand and fun learning experiences. Time is our most valuable resource and I want the time spent in my training to be the best long-term investment a scientist can make. I’ve worked with over 5000 researchers from 150 excellent research institutions and hope to work with you too.”
Note: Registration of GSLS doctoral researchers has priority to non-GSLS participants. Non-GSLS participants pay a service and workshop fee of EUR 50 by bank transfer.