SCIENCE COMMUNICATION is often perceived to be a subject that makes science look fun to a non-technical audience. It also triggers a call for action among the public to take care of the environment or their health among others.
Ahmad Ameen Kamal tells how he turned science communication skills into science diplomacy to suit his professional role at EMIR Research.
EMIR Research is a think-tank focusing on strategic policy recommendations.
“Politics and economics are usually better grasped by politicians and policymakers. Science remains elusive to many of them,” says the FameLab 2015 national champion and Audience Choice Winner.
The biotechnology graduate, says the endgame should be policies driven by data. “Here is where science communication and science diplomacy play a vital role,” says Ameen.
Science diplomacy is a subset of science communication that revolves around global and national policymaking that involves multilateral negotiations and collaborations among policymakers, scientists, investors, regulators, and industry players among others. Science diplomacy helps to solve global challenges from the scientific dimension.
Ameen who holds court as Science & Technology Head at EMIR Research came to the limelight through the first FameLab competition organised in Malaysia in 2015. The communicator is well versed in bridging the language barriers between technical and industry partners through his art of science communication.
“Science communication remains a crucial skill in my career. It helps me attain my goals.”
In his previous job working on biomass initiatives, with the Malaysian Industry-Government Group of High Technology (MIGHT), Ameen felt utilisation of biomass was still an alien concept to many. He needed to engage with and convince policymakers, investors, and industry players.
“I then moved to MYBiomass, a joint venture between Sime Darby Plantation, FGV Holdings, and Venture Tech as the Technology Development Manager. The main hurdle was bridging technical aspects with finance.”
Ameen observed that most of the shareholders were from a commerce background and biorefinery was a complete jargon to them. Ameen saw the need to acquire science communication skills to realise the goals of the company.
Participating in Famelab was a boon. He used the skills learned from FameLab to convince shareholders. “Communicating a subject must come with passion. You cannot fake it. Since I believed in utilisation of biomass, I chose to speak about it at FameLab,” says Ameen.
“The one-week masterclass gave me a different perspective on the elevator pitch, something that is so important in my line of work,” he continues.
Ameen says FameLab taught him how to “emphasise” the important messages when talking to investors to capture their attention.
He also said that the Masterclass provided to finalists groomed him on small details such as hand gestures, eye contact, or even length of eye contact as it is all related to building trust and transparency.
“Winning the National FameLab was a complete joy but going to Cheltenham Festivals was a nerve-wracking experience. I could feel the adrenaline rush as the room was brimming like a fully charged battery with participants from different countries and they were their countries’ best,” he added.
He says that although science communication has a basic rule of thumb but everyone has different styles to deliver their message. The use of props and analogies to explain the science and framing their message to capture the audience’s attention was simply incredible.
Although, Ameen did not win the international contest but being the first contestant to represent Malaysia and going on to the Semi-Finals was already a win for the nation.
His experience in FameLab opened the door for him to be a science communication tutor for Samsung’s Solve4Tomorrow Competition organised by Samsung Malaysia which aims to spark interest in innovation and STEM amongst Malaysian youth.
“The competition is an eye-opener for our youths as it emphasises on scaling up and commercialising research that is beneficial to the society and not just stays in the lab,” affirms the policy researcher.
Ameen also emphasised the need to upskill among graduates as the market is becoming more competitive and current economic needs are different. Upskilling has to be done in multiple areas such as the high technology industry, sales, finance, and communication.
Although, it sounds overwhelming but becoming an all-rounder is the way forward as employers are looking for enterprising young people to market their business. He also quickly adds that youths have to develop a constant learning mindset to stay employable as skills that were considered industry-relevant a few years ago are becoming obsolete.
Currently, working as a policy researcher, the core area of science communication he is applying is the economics of empathy.
He stressed that being a science communicator, listening to the target audience, and understanding their concerns without invalidating their emotions are essential before convincing them.
“Sometimes we are too passionate about our topic and we tend to neglect empathy and emphasise persuasion,” Ameen added.
He regrets that science communication was not being employed during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Science communication has to be consistent, persistent, and penetrate deep into the community to see the impact.
Integrating science communication as part of formal education will add value as it plays a huge role specifically in areas like policy implementation. He commends agencies like MIGHT and the British Council who are giving a lot of emphasise on science communication and organised FameLab competition in partnership with the British Council Malaysia for the past seven years till 2021.
NOTE: In partnership with the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), 2021 was the seventh and final year British Council hosted the FameLab Malaysia competition. The British Council will celebrate the partnership and achievements in April and 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 the outreach and public engagement programmes under the enabling pillar of Going Global Partnerships.
For more information visit: https://www.britishcouncil.my/famelab
