A Love Letter to Science Communicators

I've been lucky enough to collaborate with some of South Africa’s most talented science communicators. These magical unicorns—science-minded folks who are also brilliant storytellers—are indispensable to research groups looking to translate their work into real-world impact.

Science communication isn’t just about sharing research successes (although that’s a big part of it). Skilled science communicators develop original articles, videos, websites, infographics, podcasts, events, dialogues and artworks that help people understand complex ideas and inspire meaningful change.

If you're leading a research group, don’t forget to allocate a budget line for science communication in your proposals—and consider building a science communication role into your team. It’s one of the best ways to amplify your research impact.

Also, remember that fundraising is the exchange of impact for money. The better you are at communicating your scientific breakthroughs and your societal impact, the greater the investment in your work is likely to be.

Freelancers for hire: Alacia Armstrong (she/her); Tali Hoffman; Brendon Bosworth; mpho ndaba; Katrine Claassens; Rasmus Bitsch; Jorisna Bonthuys; Mari van der Merwe

Science communicators to follow and admire: Dr Hayley Tomes (she/her), who works for the UCT Neuroscience Institute; and Yulisha Naidoo who works for the UCT Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine.

Yellow-Red-Blue abstract painting by Wassily Kandinsky. Original public domain image from Wikipedia