Workshops for scientific and research conferences
Are you the proud organiser of a scientific or research conference? Do you want to offer practical skills-based workshops that delegates can attend several weeks in advance, to give everyone an equal opportunity to design an impactful poster, present clearly, network for success and get the most out of your event?
If you are nodding, then our science communication workshops for conferences might be right for you.
About our pre-conference workshops
We offer practical workshops and sessions to help your conference delegates learn new skills, refresh existing skills, and get practical, hands-on experience and invaluable feedback from peers and our team of communication specialists. Choose from our suggested pre-conference workshops, or ask us for a bespoke workshop or experience.
Pre-conference workshops:
Workshops for poster session participants and presenters
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Short workshops and sessions for large groups
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Facilitated events and experiences for online delegates:
For online conferences, we also offer facilitated events and experiences to allow delegates to gather, network and socialise, simulating on-site conference activities and get-togethers.
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Poster design, presentation design and delivery, and other practical pre-conference workshops
Give conference delegates an equal opportunity to design an impactful poster, or present their work in an engaging manner with our pre-conference workshops.
Typically, we start these workshops 4-6s week before the start of your conference, as this allows participants to design their posters and presentations, and practice delivering them well in advance of your submission deadline. We deliver these workshops online so that all delegates can participate, wherever they are in the world.
Our blended learning, “flipped classroom” approach means that participants work through our short, punchy, information-packed learning material on their own, and then apply their new knowledge to their poster or presentation. We use our live, online sessions to explore design and delivery tips, solve problems, give and receive feedback, and have an opportunity to present posters or presentations to peers and our team of communication experts in exchange for suggestions and advice.
Benefits
Ideal for both early career researchers who want to create their first poster or presentation with the help of clear, easy-to-follow guidelines and practical, constructive feedback and discussions AND established researchers who need a refresher to get them going.
Our blended learning format and online live sessions allow delegates to participate from wherever they are in the world so that your conference attendees all have the same opportunity to build skills and communicate their research clearly.
By using the live sessions for discussion, trying out new things, giving and receiving feedback, and exploring topics and challenges in greater depth, participants can make the best use of their time and gain invaluable insights into how their peers and non-experts respond to their research communication.
You can expect well-designed posters and presentations, clear delivery, and posters and presentations that are submitted on time.
Participants will be able to use the workshop to create their poster or presentation, which means that they will complete it well in advance of the conference instead of the night before!
The transferable skills learned will be useful during the conference, as well as in professional settings and when getting involved in outreach and research communication in the future.
Curious? Book a call or send us a message to learn more.
Short, fun and informative skill-building workshops before or during the conference
If you want to offer a large number of delegates an opportunity to learn practical communication skills that will benefit them during the conference and in the future during their research careers, we offer short 2-hour and half-day sessions that can take the form of seminar-style sessions with interactive elements, or as hands-on sessions that combine a little theory with a lot of practical experimentation.
These online sessions are perfect if you have a diverse delegate audience, based in different countries and timezones. Popular themes and topics include:
- Networking for success
- Body talk (non-verbal communication)
- What the media wants
- How to “wow” when it’s all online (the basics of showing up and being seen and heard in online meetings)
- What’s your style? (understanding communication styles and how to use this knowledge to get along with [almost] anyone!)
- An introduction to using stories and narrative in science and research communication
Why offer these workshops and professional development sessions?
- You will give your delegates an equal opportunity to learn transferable skills helpful for the conference and their careers
- Delegates will have an opportunity to network before the start of the conference
- You can show delegates how your conference adds value beyond the formal sessions
Curious? Book a call or send us a message to learn more.
New! Ice-breakers and networking events for online conference delegates
There are many benefits to hosting an online conference: reduced costs for you and delegates, an opportunity to attract participation from a wider audience, reduced CO2 emissions and conference waste, and thanks to the removal of cost and travel barriers, a conference that is open to delegates from across the globe.
One significant downside of online conferences, however, is the opportunity for people to network. Although many conference organisers do their best to create opportunities to gather online, after a day of Zoom meetings (or whatever conference tool you are using), we’ve found that some creativity is needed to get people involved and engaged.
We offer a number of online “networking and socialising” events to ensure that your delegates enjoy the social aspects of an in-person conference from the comfort of their offices. Some examples include:
- Murder Mystery events – choose from our existing range, or we can custom-design an event to tie in with your conference.
- Speed networking events
- Online escape games
- Gamified events that allow people to get to know each other in small groups and compete against other groups to complete puzzles, play survival games, and more.
Curious? Book a call or send us a message to learn more.
It's been a long time since I have enjoyed a training workshop as much as I did this one! Suzanne took a lot of time to get to know each of our group during the training, quickly spotting where our strengths lay and helping us develop skills in new areas. She struck a good balance between theory and discussion, and I particularly appreciated the time she gave us for group work and time to try out new skills alone. She was full of energy and positivity, and made me feel welcome and valued throughout, even when she put me on the spot in role plays. Highly recommended!
It was useful to think more strategically about elevator pitches and how I could create something generic for "everyday" use as well as something tailored for different situations like meetings. The opportunity to plan and share elevator pitches was good, as it gave me an idea of other styles and approaches. The detailed individual feedback was unexpected, but great.
I have just completed SciComm Success' Poster Design Workshop. It was full of interesting tips and tools, some of which I have already built into my poster planning. Although we had a big group and I expected a lecture/webinar format, Suzanne constantly invited us to provide feedback and our own experiences, and I enjoyed hearing what fellow biologists like and don't. I liked that the group was international and enjoyed the flexible and informal discussions - some via chat, some using whiteboards, some simple audio discussion. It felt as if we could all contribute, wherever we were. I would recommend this workshop for anyone new to creating posters for conferences. It would probably be a good refresher for poster presenters, too. Thank you, SEB, for the opportunity.
This was a fascinating workshop! I learned so much about how I come across and how powerful it is to become more conscious about how I "show up", so that I can make the right impression. Loved the tips about reading other people's non-verbal cues, too. This has made me think twice about the best time to approach people with difficult subject. Thank you, Suzanne, for an inspiring morning!
Loved this. So much information and still time for some good discussions with fellow students. I look forward to being able to use some of the ideas when I create my first poster.
This was a good refresher on best practice planning and design for posters. I particularly enjoyed the sessions on tools for choosing colour palettes, which I have since used in other communication materials, and the discussion about online and virtual conferences, which was an eye-opener for me during COVID. Thank you, Suzanne!
This workshop was great fun. I learned loads about perspective and how I tend to communicate, and hope to be able to use this knowledge to communicate better with our international students.