Excellence Workshop in International S.T.E.M. Communication, Productivity & Career Skills

For cancer research, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) subjects are the basis for conducting excellent research. Research in and of itself remains a fundamental component of future cancer researchers. But what has become increasingly important in recent years is science communication. In times of social media and the like, the communication of scientific findings is becoming increasingly important, not least as a result of the corona pandemic. The goal of the five-module series of events "Excellence in International S.T.E.M. Communication, Productivity & Career Skills" was to enable scientists to represent an increasingly interdisciplinary and internationally networked research to the outside world. Improving communication skills in the field of STEM research, training negotiation skills and strengthening intercultural competencies were on the agenda of the five workshops. The last three-day workshop took place in Garmisch-Patenkirchen under the guidance of coaching expert Dr. Paul Charlton. Our iFIT researchers had a lot of fun and, above all, took away a lot of useful knowledge for their professional careers. Ana, Ph.D. student in autophagocytosis, was enthusiastic about the workshop series: "The workshop was very interesting and beyond my expectations. Understanding cultural diversity and emotional intelligence were highlights for me, as they are deeply connected with achieving effective communication." The event series was also extremely helpful for Marta, a Ph.D. student in MRI and multimodal imaging: "The workshop helped me a lot to put into practice several aspects of science communication which are normally underestimated: understanding your audience, building a message, connecting with the public with empathy and making science easy to communicate."