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.

“Virus, the Beauty of the Beast” – an Interview with Hamish Todd

If you haven’t seen Virus, the Beauty of the Beast, I suggest you stop what you’re doing right now: grab a cup of tea with one hand and your mouse with the other and sit down to enjoy Hamish Todd’s latest creation that has been 3 years…

Interviews

“Get a crash course in information design and effective communication!”

Learn a little bit about information design, and you can make very effective visuals together with an illustrations professional. This is the advice of Belgian 3D artist & illustrator Luk Cox, specialized in making graphical abstracts. The…

Opinion & Reflection

Crastina Column, June–Aug 2017: “Being a proud intermediary” by Fredrik Saarkoppel

“I’m specialised in understanding three things: firstly the subject itself, and secondly the perspectives of the two groups that I serve, i.e. senders and receivers.” So says Fredrik Saarkoppel, Swedish freelance illustrator with many…

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