As researchers it is easy for us
to become content to remain in our own niches, seeking information only
relevant to our own projects or subject areas. Scientists from different
disciplines do not always make a habit of interacting: attending each other's
presentations or reading each other's papers. It’s not necessarily that we are disinterested
in all other topics besides our own, our career choice suggests we must have
inquisitive minds, however we get busy: lab work to complete; background
reading to do; and internal reports or papers to write.
My department, like many others,
runs a weekly seminar series during which internal, national and international
speakers from all areas of bioscience and at any career stage are invited to
present. The same diversity applies to the audience, so over the year provides
a fertile platform for inter-discipline exchange and collaboration.
As DTA researchers we are fortunate
to be part of another scientific community outside our own departments and
covering a wide scope of study areas, allowing us to share ideas, something I
believe we should embrace fully during the course of our study. Since one of
the main aspects of DTA is science communication and networking, I invite you
all to take the opportunity to speak to each other about your work. Discussing
your work with a scientist in a different field can highlight aspects of your
research you may not have previous considered: prompting new questions to
answer; inspiring collaborations; and sharing techniques than can be adapted to
fill a different need.
It requires a deep understanding
of your work to explain it well and concisely to someone with little background
knowledge in that area, and therefore, especially as new postgraduate students,
it will be a great way to identify area you have a weaker understanding of or
struggle to explain. So take every chance you have to present to others, even
if only to your supervisor or small group of your colleagues and friends, it
will enable you to increase confidence in presenting prior to attending a
conference, and help improve and critic your own presentational skills.
Alternatively, as a member of the audience it is possible to follow the example
of other more experience presenters. All the more reason to get involved!
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