Over the years SciComm became really important to me. As I already pointed out on the starting page, I am convinced that science is and will be a fundamental part of our society, while I am also quite worried that a general acceptance of scientific work is not given anymore.
What are the consequences? How impudent will fake news become over time? How will we tackle the big global challenges of our time without solid trust in scientific work? How will this affect the next generations? In 20, 30, or 50 years from now, will there still be young, curious kids who want to become scientists?
I have become a scientist because I like to learn and know about new things, and quite honestly, it is not super important to me, what I am doing research on. For me it's about answering questions, no matter if it's related to polymers, metals, or whatever. And I am blessed to have the opportunity to do this for quite some time now in a motivating, supporting, and caring community. It takes a village to grow, and I had and still have people around me that support and inspire me. I am very thankful for that, and I think now is the time to give back.
That is the reason why I want to promote science and actively do science communication by creating this webpage, writing articles about my research in a hopefully easy and comprehensible way, writing and editing Wikipedia articles, tweeting about my scientific day, setting up the NERDS podcast, or doing fact-checking for kurzgesagt videos.
In this section, I want to report on my SciComm experiences, which might help, support, or even inspire you to do science communication yourself. As usual, I would be very happy to receive feedback or connect and chat with you about your experiences as a scientist or science communicator. Feel free to drop me a message. ☺️🙌🏼
What are the consequences? How impudent will fake news become over time? How will we tackle the big global challenges of our time without solid trust in scientific work? How will this affect the next generations? In 20, 30, or 50 years from now, will there still be young, curious kids who want to become scientists?
I have become a scientist because I like to learn and know about new things, and quite honestly, it is not super important to me, what I am doing research on. For me it's about answering questions, no matter if it's related to polymers, metals, or whatever. And I am blessed to have the opportunity to do this for quite some time now in a motivating, supporting, and caring community. It takes a village to grow, and I had and still have people around me that support and inspire me. I am very thankful for that, and I think now is the time to give back.
That is the reason why I want to promote science and actively do science communication by creating this webpage, writing articles about my research in a hopefully easy and comprehensible way, writing and editing Wikipedia articles, tweeting about my scientific day, setting up the NERDS podcast, or doing fact-checking for kurzgesagt videos.
In this section, I want to report on my SciComm experiences, which might help, support, or even inspire you to do science communication yourself. As usual, I would be very happy to receive feedback or connect and chat with you about your experiences as a scientist or science communicator. Feel free to drop me a message. ☺️🙌🏼
IN A NUTSHELL - KURZGESAGT 🦆
Lately, I got more and more inquiries how my work as a content creator and fact checker at kurzgesagt looks like. Therefore, I decided to put a small kurzgesagt FAQ on my webpage to provide a few insights into my work.
If your question remains unanswered, feel free to drop me a short message!
How to create content for kurzgesagt?
I write scripts for the TikTok channel of kurzgesagt. First, I pitch some topics that I find exciting to the kurzgesagt team. If my ideas are approved, I start to write a first draft. After a few feedback loops, the final script goes to fact-checking, illustration, animation, and all the other departments that are needed for the final video.
What does a fact checker at kurzgesagt do?
The kurzgesagt team is closely working together with fact checkers who are experts in their respective fields. They come into play, whenever scientific facts, references, principles, calculations, expressions, or translations have to be checked for validity and correctness.
In practical terms, this means that kurzgesagt sends me the video script with specific instructions (e.g., check translations on page 4 and 5; Is the principle described on page 8 scientifically correct?; Can you have a look at the calculations?; Is there a paper/study to this statement?). Usually, the script comes with a (not so urgent) deadline and I can work on the script whenever it fits best to my schedule. From time to time, we clarify some details on the phone or via mail.
Once I am done with my scientific check, I send back the revised script and still am on standby in case of further questions about the script or my edits.
What are your fields of expertise?
I am an experimental physicist (main focus on polymers) with a masters degree in (physical/inorganic) chemistry and a PhD in soft matter physics.
What projects have your worked on with kurzgesagt?
So far, I have worked on scripts and videos that focused on (bio)chemistry, classical physics, and astrophysics. I also contributed to the kurzgesagt scale app that was released in 2021. You can find some of them here:
If your question remains unanswered, feel free to drop me a short message!
How to create content for kurzgesagt?
I write scripts for the TikTok channel of kurzgesagt. First, I pitch some topics that I find exciting to the kurzgesagt team. If my ideas are approved, I start to write a first draft. After a few feedback loops, the final script goes to fact-checking, illustration, animation, and all the other departments that are needed for the final video.
What does a fact checker at kurzgesagt do?
The kurzgesagt team is closely working together with fact checkers who are experts in their respective fields. They come into play, whenever scientific facts, references, principles, calculations, expressions, or translations have to be checked for validity and correctness.
In practical terms, this means that kurzgesagt sends me the video script with specific instructions (e.g., check translations on page 4 and 5; Is the principle described on page 8 scientifically correct?; Can you have a look at the calculations?; Is there a paper/study to this statement?). Usually, the script comes with a (not so urgent) deadline and I can work on the script whenever it fits best to my schedule. From time to time, we clarify some details on the phone or via mail.
Once I am done with my scientific check, I send back the revised script and still am on standby in case of further questions about the script or my edits.
What are your fields of expertise?
I am an experimental physicist (main focus on polymers) with a masters degree in (physical/inorganic) chemistry and a PhD in soft matter physics.
What projects have your worked on with kurzgesagt?
So far, I have worked on scripts and videos that focused on (bio)chemistry, classical physics, and astrophysics. I also contributed to the kurzgesagt scale app that was released in 2021. You can find some of them here:
How is it like to work for kurzgesagt?
It is so awesome! Exciting science, great colleagues, flexible working time. Can it get even better?
How international is the team? And is the communication mostly happening in German or English?
It is an international team (in-house + freelancer). The people I am working with are German and therefore, we communicate in German with each other, but English would be fine as well.
Most jobs at kurzgesagt require good English and German skills since there are English and German versions of the kurzgesagt videos.
What do you like best?
I love how kurzgesagt succeeds in explaining complicated stuff in a very easy way. It is really impressive and I am learning a lot about scientific story telling.
Is there something you don't like
There are time periods with very little videos that fall into my fields of expertise, which means barely no work for me. That's not so cool, but is also means more time to work on other projects. 🙌🏼
How to apply as a fact checker (or something else) at kurzgesagt?
Have a look if they have current open job positions. Alternatively, you can use the contact page or send them an email (info@kurzgesagt.org)
It is so awesome! Exciting science, great colleagues, flexible working time. Can it get even better?
How international is the team? And is the communication mostly happening in German or English?
It is an international team (in-house + freelancer). The people I am working with are German and therefore, we communicate in German with each other, but English would be fine as well.
Most jobs at kurzgesagt require good English and German skills since there are English and German versions of the kurzgesagt videos.
What do you like best?
I love how kurzgesagt succeeds in explaining complicated stuff in a very easy way. It is really impressive and I am learning a lot about scientific story telling.
Is there something you don't like
There are time periods with very little videos that fall into my fields of expertise, which means barely no work for me. That's not so cool, but is also means more time to work on other projects. 🙌🏼
How to apply as a fact checker (or something else) at kurzgesagt?
Have a look if they have current open job positions. Alternatively, you can use the contact page or send them an email (info@kurzgesagt.org)
SciComm at Wikipedia
Wikipedia is great! I mean seriously: There is so much knowledge and expertise (reviewed by experts), all articles are curated by a very supporting and caring community, there are a lot of resources on 'How to write Wikipedia articles', and everything is accessible for free!
If you like to write, it is perfect for communicating your science to a broader expert and non-expert audience. Below you find some of the articles I recently wrote.
If you like to write, it is perfect for communicating your science to a broader expert and non-expert audience. Below you find some of the articles I recently wrote.
Guided Reactor Tours at FRM II
Working at a neutron research facility is great! There are so many smart minds around you, who are doing the craziest stuff with neutrons. It fascinates me every day, how such a complex thing as a neutron reactor is running and doing great science. And it's awesome that people from all over the world are doing measurements here with us. And the best thing: All the crazy, nerdy science does not happen behind closed gates and doors. There are guided tours through the reactor, where you can see those things by yourself.
You can check out the details here.
If you are around the FRM II, just drop a message. I would love to be your guide and show you around the reactor ☺️✌🏽
You can check out the details here.
If you are around the FRM II, just drop a message. I would love to be your guide and show you around the reactor ☺️✌🏽
Thanks for stepping by!
If you have any question to SciComm or something else, please feel free to contact me!
I would love to chat further about your SciComm experiences!
Thank you! 🥰
I would love to chat further about your SciComm experiences!
Thank you! 🥰
