Option for those who want to balance their love of science with their language skills.

Common touch: Science communicators also organise exhibitions

Do you like to explain arcane scientific topics to the man on the street, in a language that he can understand? Do you find it exciting to explore the link between the early flowering of mango trees, or disappearance of a species of fish, with global warming? Do you have the patience to leaf through hundreds of dry scientific journals to fish out that one exciting story, say about a promising cure for AIDS or a new silicon-like material that can make computing ultra fast? Then, science communication may be a career option for you.

Science communication is the art of communicating the intricacies of science and the amazing discoveries of scientists to a layperson in a language that he or she can understand. A person who specialises in science communication can get a job as a science reporter in national and regional newspapers and magazines or as a producer of science programmes on radio or television. He or she can also choose to become a popular science writer in specialised science magazines, or a science communication officer in national or regional science laboratories.

The practice of science communication is both exciting and challenging. For instance, a science reporter working for a newspaper may have to write about the discovery of water on Mars one day, a new genetic manipulation technique the second day or file a story on the latest archaeological find the third day.

A reporter gets to cover a wide range of subjects and the opportunity to meet a large number of people working in diverse fields of science and technology. The field is certainly challenging, as one needs to develop a minimum understanding of the subjects that one is covering.

Apart from reporting or editing science, technology, and health stories for newspapers and television, those with a background in science communication can also become popular science writers who may find jobs in specialised science magazines, a number of which are slowly coming to India, like the Scientific American or Geo. Popular science writers get to specialise in one or a few areas in science but they need to develop a much deeper understanding of their subject than, say, science reporters working for a newspaper or a current affairs magazine.

At least a handful of television channels, including the stated-owned Doordarshan, have shown interest in having dedicated science programmes. The demand for those who can handle science or technology as content can only go up in the future.

Many scientific institutions are also slowly becoming open to the idea of appointing science communication officers. For instance, a senior official of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, told Careergraph that they have been on the lookout for a competent person to look after the institute’s science communication needs.

Unlike in the West, where almost all newspapers and television channels have dedicated science desks and universities have in-house science writers, there was very little demand for science communicators in India till not very long ago.

However, that is slowly changing. Under an initiative of the National Council for Science and Technology Communication, which is part of the Union department of science and technology, several universities have introduced courses in science communication. While many universities like Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore, Lucknow University and Anna University, Chennai, are offering an MSc course in science communication, there are also several postgraduate diploma courses on offer. Almost all MSc students are given a monthly stipend of Rs 1,000.

There are other institutions, like the Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University for Journalism and Communication in Bhopal, which also offer residential postgraduate diploma programmes in science communication. A stipend is available to those who enrol for such courses.

Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya and the Lucknow-based Indian Science Communication Society (ISCOS) also offer distance education courses in science communication. Such courses are more suitable for those who are already working in a scientific institution or a media organisation. “Though fresh graduates can also apply, it would be more beneficial for those who are working as it can be used for skill enhancement,” says V.P. Singh of ISCOS.

Institutes that conduct science communication courses say that more and more students are applying for them. “Every year, we get nearly 1,000 applications for 100 seats,” says Singh of ISCOS.

The job prospect is good. “We have been able to place nearly 80 per cent of those who successfully complete the course each year,” says Vijay Baboo Gupta, course director at Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, which conducts the oldest science communication course in the country.

For those interested in a job as a science reporter in the mainstream print or audiovisual media, the courses offered by the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media (IIJNM), Bangalore, and the Centre for Development for Imaging Technology (C-DIT), Thiruvananthapuram, will be of help.

IIJNM — which has science journalism as an elective in its one-year course — focuses on making students do at least one science story a week for the entire semester. “More than the theory, we focus on teaching students the craft of science journalism,” says Kanchan Kaur, vice-president, IIJNM.

The C-DIT course, on the other hand, specialises in science and technology communication in the electronic media.

Sources: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Mother of All Sciences
• India’s ‘$10 laptop’ turns out to be too good to be true