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.

Video: an effective tool for disseminating complex research

Verbally communicating complex science theories to a layperson can be a challenging task. But explaining science though video proves to be a much more clear and effective way to “illustrate complex scenarios” based on Dr. Pontus Nordenfelt’s…

News & Announcements

Advent calendars with science theme

Web based Advent calendars seem to become more and more popular, and they come in a multitude of flavors regarding themes, content and form. Here are some of the (more or less) science themed calendars of 2016. This is an active crowdsourcing…

News & Announcements

Women of Science engages people about the lives of female scientists.

With Women of Science, PhD student Rhys Archer wants to engage people about the lives of female scientists. Every week, a female scientist will be presented “to show them as relatable people, to give young people some real attainable role…

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