Dr @TanaDJoseph is an #AfricansInSTEM astronomer. She's an expert #scicomm in her field and has her own #STEM consultancy and communication company called @Astro_Comms.
Tana thank you for your work inspiring us to dream big!
Dr @ChinweJaja is an #AfricansInSTEM pharmacist and public health researcher. Her #scicomm is fantastic as she's on top of the game in providing accurate public health info especially during the #pandemicchinwejaja.com
Thank you so much for the work you do Chinwe
@Laila_H_ in an #AfricansInSTEM Masters graduate in geography. She does #scicomm managing @sciencespaza magazine! Thank you Laila for your incredible work getting young people interested in the #STEM field.
@james_azam is an #AfricansInSTEM PhD Candidate modeling measles. He has a great YouTube youtube.com/c/JamesAzam
With great academic tools and hacks that have personally saved me countless times!
Thanks James for being "the plug"
@UdeMischa is an #AfricansInSTEM PhD candidate in Paleobotonist and ecologist. She's also a lecturer. In #scicomm known to us as the #plantdetective teaching us about plants from the past.
Aviwe, your work is incredible thank you!
@Mavumavu91 is an #AfricansInSTEM PhD candidate in geology and paleoanthropology. He's a great #scicomm and currently a project manager @NatGeo_Umsuka project. Silindo, thank you so much for the great work you do
@AhhDamnHer is an #AfricansInSTEM Msc student in medical ultrasound. She's a brilliant #scicomm & runs a blog called @catalystinme_ ( linktr.ee/tcimthat) does career profiles. She has written useful info to curb misinfo around vaccines. Adama, you are so brilliant thank you!
Dr Evodia Setati & Dr Thato Motlhalamme are #AfricansInSTEM and authors of the amazing book @holdingtheknife. This #scicomm is a collection of incredible stories of #WOMENINSTEM from SA.
A must read!
Details of book here: pathtoscience.com
Thank you so much for your work!
@africansinstem is an organization that aims to highlight the scientific contributions of #AfricansInSTEM & provide avenues to connect. Infact there is a symposium coming up in April! Keep a keen eye out.
More info: africansinstem.co.uk
You doing fantastic work!
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With full bias I'm going start with me 😅
I am the host of @RootofSciPod. Where I interview various #AfricansInSTEM across the globe to talk about their science and find out what got them into #STEM
This podcast series aims to create visible role models for the younger generation and guests have shared some great stories. One of the most memorable stories was with @TapokaM: buzzsprout.com/809081/4312232…
I'm also part of the amazing team of @ViSTEM_Africa (I'll talk more about their work in detail later) and I'm responsible for the blog section.
Website:visibilitystemafrica.com
To talk about #scicomm in Africa I need to bring it back to me.
I only found out about this field late 2019 in the end of MSc year right here on Twitter= social media.
Similar to many of you in this poll. 1/n
Despite the recent dev in scientific output from Africa public understanding of science researchers in many parts of the continent remain low. This has been so obvious during this pandemic with mass misinformation flying all over social media
2/n
an opinion piece by Karikarl 2016 links this to the following: 1. Lack of awareness 2. Literacy rates 3. Multiplicity of language(this is so NB!!)
Yesterday I reminded u Africa has 54 countries with different languages. Which can make #scicomm difficult but not impossible.
3/n
I asked which field you think contributes the most in terms of scientific research output by #AfricansInSTEM?
Reveal time 😁
This poll is right it's actually a close link btwn life sciences and earth & Env science!
I hope you didn't cheat 👀😅
This comes from a report by .The Next Generation of Scientists in Africa(2018) of a 4year study. Authors surveyed 5,700 African researchers 2016- 2017 & analysed papers listed in Web of Science that had African authors & were published btwn 2005- 2016.
Here's the list. 2/n
The question is why these topics?
Well @Aliens68 pointed out something important :FUNDING
big grants tend to be in fields favoured by foreign funders who favor topics such as agriculture and health sciences.
Here's a visual of some major funders of #AfricansInSTEM. 3/n
Let's talk about scientific & #AfricansInSTEM.
Quick disclaimer: this info I report is from research from books, sites etc. I don't claim to know it all. So if I am wrong I am very willing to correct my mistakes & learn. Let's converse. That's exactly what today is about
1/n
Here's some stats for you. According to an article by Elsiver (bitly.com) Africa accounts for <1 percent% of global research output. Despite having 16.72% of global population.
I love this visual made by @Tasia1409 which gives us a visual understanding.
2/n
When some people think of Africa, they think it's a monolith. There are 54 countries. Let's see where this 1% comes from. In a @nature country research outputs report from
1 De'19 - 30 Nov'20 shows South Africa is leading. Here's the top 20.
🔗 :shorturl.at/hjtHK 3/n
Hello, #SciComm friends! Today I'm tweeting on how to talk to lawmakers about science! This info mostly comes from working in Congress and being a @sfntweets Early Career Policy Fellow. - @fancycomma
Remember Schoolhouse Rock? This song is my jam! #SciPol
The good news about science advocacy is that it's pretty easy to engage your local Members of Congress on the important issues -- it's their job to listen! Science funding, especially biomedical science, enjoys bipartisan support in Congress.
The difficult part is knowing how to do #SciencePolicy or #SciPol effectively. That's what I'm here to help with today!