Research fellows and graduate students taking environmental-related courses at Makerere University have been retooled on communicating research findings. The training was part of the EfD-Mak seminar series held on 7th February 2024.
The seminar builds on a course that has been offered by the EfD Global Hub research fellows in the EfD network. Those fellows were trained on policy engagement and science communication, and in particular how to communicate research findings to a non-scientific audience.
This seminar was facilitated by Dr. Aisha Nanyiti, Dr. Peter Babyenda, Dr. Nick Kilimani, and Dr. John Sseruyange. The objective was to equip the academia with tools and skills to communicate science to influence society and policy formulation.
“If you do research and you don’t communicate it, that research is dead. Good research should be communicated to influence policy. EfD generally is concerned with policy design and everything we do is targeted to inform policy,” said Peter Babyenda.
The participants were trained on how to present an impact story, a policy brief, a press release, and how to prepare for a media interview.
The training also looked at how researchers can engage professionally on social media, including X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook among others.
Another aspect was how researchers can use artificial intelligence (AI) like ChatGPT, and its advantages and disadvantages. It was noted that AI can help summarize or structure the research work, but the participants were cautioned against copying and pasting and to be mindful of plagiarism.
By Jane Anyango
Communication Officer