S

cience knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminated the world.

Louis Pasteur 

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The European Researcher’s night brings science to citizens. This year, myself and Adithya had the chance to attend the event in Madrid. Without the burden of running a stall, we got to play the role of citizens and learn about fields of science outside of our knowledge. 

The event this year offered something for all ages. There were stalls to make magnets, plant seeds, and examine specimens under a microscope. For me, the most interesting exhibition of the night was put on by GlaxoSmithKline. A large branch of GSK’s work is focused on infectious diseases, in particular research into vaccines. The European Researcher’s Night gave attendees the chance to learn more about how vaccines work through a virtual reality headset. The VR demonstration began with the injection of the vaccine into the bloodstream and following it through the many stages to give a patient protection from an infection. 

The experience of the European Researcher’s night in Madrid reaffirmed that science can be communicated in many ways and for any audience. In 2020, I had the chance to attend the SciComm conference in Dublin. The conference highlighted many ways to communicate scientific research, with dance demonstrations, poetry, and even a conga line used to convey information about the researcher’s work. With some creativity and thought for our audience, we as scientists can communicate our research to anyone.