WHAT is making it possible for a pharmacogeneticist to seamlessly work with bioinformaticians, corporate communicators, investors, researchers and industry partners?
Vishala Sivapalan says it is her exposure to science communication through FameLab – the world’s largest science communication competition.
When Vishala was pursuing her Masters in pharmacogenomics at the University of Malaya in 2018, she received an email from the university inviting students to a talk by a 2017 FameLab winner, Dr Zaid Omar.
Little did she know it was on science communication.
“I never heard about science communication until I attended Dr Zaid’s talk. During the talk he asked me why I am sitting at the back and told me to come forward”.
Vishala did not know then that both the talk and meeting with Zaid were about to transform her career. She took part in FameLab 2018 and emerged as the second runner up much to her surprise.
That changed her perspective about communicating science to a wider audience.
Vishala attributes her successful career as Science Lead at Advanx Health to this FameLab competition that is organised by Cheltenham Science Festival.
Malaysia had a strong presence in this festival raising the first Asian Global Champion in 2016 and later another global champion in 2018, the same year Vishala participated.
In Malaysia, FameLab took science communication to new heights as Malaysian STEM researchers, academia, teachers, and students steadily took part during its glorious seven years.
“It offered a platform for us to form a vibrant national and global network of STEM icons who share a common passion to communicate science,” says Vishala.
How do scientists, mathematicians, and engineers communicate their scientific concepts in just three minutes to a public audience yet avoid the use of scientific jargon while avoiding scientific jargon, without trivialising science? That is the magic.
“From being a person who holds back my opinion, FameLab gave me the courage to speak confidently today,” says Vishala.
“Talking to all the different stakeholders at work requires lots of science communication skills. I need to customise my messages and capture their attention.”
Coming from a biochemistry and pharmacology background, jargon comes easily to her in her daily vocabulary. In the beginning, it was a challenge for this young science communicator to speak to different stakeholders by avoiding scientific and technical jargon – but eventually, she learned some communication skills from FameLab trainers.
“Science communication is absolutely adding value to my career today.”
Vishala affirmed that there is a strong need for scientists to effectively communicate their scientific and technological ideas to non-technical stakeholders to develop a more effective and profitable ecosystem in the business and industrial world.
“Communicating research was an uphill battle during my postgraduate studies. I noticed people lost interest in my talks because they are largely peppered with scientific jargon.”
Then she met Zaid and eventually got a grip on how she could communicate science in a more effective way.
“Attending the Masterclass with Dallas was an eye-opener for me and communicating with an international personality boosted my confidence.”
Vishala pointed out a few science communication tips from the Masterclass that is very useful in her career. Before speaking to her stakeholders, Vishala frames her key message to be conveyed in the first one minute of conservation to spark their interest and not lose them.
Masterclass taught us to tailor our messages according to the different target audiences, building trust with them and to be focused on our messages.
She adds that voice projection and maintaining the body language are also vital skills for a science communicator. She learned in the Masterclass.
“Apart from the competition I was really impressed with the British Council’s hospitality. Being a vegetarian, my food was well-taken care of. British Council went beyond the competition and we share a special bond till today”, said Vishala.
“FameLab has identified many science communicators from Malaysia. Over the past seven years, more scientists have put themselves at the public forefront to communicate science effectively. This is thanks to their participation in the FameLab contests”, ended the science communicator.
EndNote
In partnership with the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), 2021 was the seventh and final year British Council is hosting the FameLab Malaysia competition. The British Council will celebrate the partnership and achievements in May 2022 to draw this successful partnership to a close, handing over FameLab Malaysia to MIGHT. MIGHT will continue to run FameLab Malaysia together with Cheltenham Festivals, the creator of FameLab in the UK.
While the British Council has ceased running FameLab, science communication remains to be part of outreach and public engagement programmes under the enabling pillar of Going Global Partnerships.
For more information visit: https://www.britishcouncil.my/famelab
Contact persons:
Ms. Kuek Yen Sim, Head, Newton Fund and Sciences, British Council yensim.kuek@britishcouncil.org
Ms. Ani Suzila Anas, Corporate Communications and Relations, MIGHT
ani@might.org.my
