Crastina is a platform for the exchange of experience, knowledge and inspiration regarding both scientific peer-to-peer communication and science dissemination

What? An international network of (mostly young) people who love to communicate science & tech.
Why? We think science needs to be communicated with more passion and professionalism.
Where? On our website with interviews & resources + on social media + on Skype and IRL.
Who? A content group (the Crew), a think tank (the Academy), + lots of friends & contacts.
When? Right now – as a matter of fact, we’ve just geared up.

Turning Brain Drain into Brain Circulation (Joanna Bagniewska, June 2015)

For many years Poland has experienced human capital flight, or “brain drain”. But this process is slowly becoming balanced by ”returnees”. The networking and communication skills of young members of the Polish scientific diaspora has played a crucial role. Joanna Bagniewska, zoologist and science disseminator, explains how.

Interviews

Zen Faulkes, Better Posters: “No frickin’ Comic Sans”

“[The blog] Better Posters is about making posters informative and beautiful”. Meet invertebrate neuroethologist Zen Faulkes at The University of Texas-Pan American.

Interviews

Jennifer Briselli: “Help scientists approach science communication like designers”

”I want to help the science community communicate better.” So Jennifer Briselli, design strategist with a background in physics, education, rhetoric and design, started her two part article “Designing Science Communication” on medium.com.

Our current theme: “SciComm in Africa”

Pearl Osirike: “The beginning of a new era: science communication in Africa”

A Crastina Column by Pearl Osirike, Ph.D. student at West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), University of Ghana.

Read the Crastina Column

This time, we will learn more about SciComm activities emerging from a geographical area which is often overlooked in the general discussion about science and its communication: Africa.

On the one hand, it is true that African academia has to cope with persistent challenges like poor funding, inadequate infrastructure, staff shortages and recruitment problems. The everyday struggle of experimental scientists is hard to imagine for those who work in labs in Europe and North America. For example, the difficulty of transporting tissue samples and biomolecules sometimes add weeks and months to projects – parcels are lost, frozen samples become thawed and are ruined on the way, et cetera.

On the other hand, anyone who studies the websites of African universities and research institutes will be met by an impressing vitality and optimism. Innumerous projects are ongoing across this vast continent, and many of them include SciComm activities which all provide a lesson for anyone ready to read, ask and reflect.

We have rarely felt such anticipation when initiating a theme here at Crastina; we are confident that we all – authors and readers have much – to learn.

For The Crastina Crew

Olle Bergman, Project Leader