Communicating your Science

The next Young@Heart event will be hosted online on Friday April 23, 2021. We will take a deep dive into the way how researchers can make their work easily understandable and accessible to the public. Clear communication is crucial for almost all aspects of science. This event is aimed at teaching you the basic skills you need.
You can find the full program and more information about the presentations and the workshops below!
We are looking forward to welcome you at our event!
Event program
09:10 – 09:30 | Welcome and introduction |
09:30 – 10:00 | VrouwenHart |
10:00 – 11:00 | Crazy idea presentations |
11:00 – 12:00 | — Lunch break — |
12:00 – 12:45 | Bas Haring |
12:45 – 13:00 | — Break — |
13:00 – 13:45 | Maarten van den Hoogenhof (DZHK) |
13:45 – 14:15 | Lucas Brouwers |
14:15 – 14:30 | — Break — |
14:30 – 16:30 | Workshops |
16:30 – 16:45 | — Break — |
16:45 – 17:00 | Closing remarks |
Program details

Meet your moderator: Svea Nolte
Hi! My name is Svea and I’m an MD-PhD student at the Department of Internal Medicine and Neurology at the University Medical Center Groningen. Being the moderator of this forthcoming event for the first time pretty much sums up the last few years of my relationship with doing research: never-done-before-tasks have always been very appealing and exciting to me! This means that I’m often finding myself in quite challenging situations which, so far, have only lead to great new experiences! I’ve been doing my clinical internships for the last year and have noticed once again the multifaceted role of communication in daily practice: communicating diagnoses, communicating treatment options through shared decision making, and also communicating the science behind these diagnoses and treatments to patients. That’s why I’m so excited about this event of Young@Heart: I will not only guide you through the event, but we’ll also get the chance to learn from all the inspiring speakers! I’m really looking forward to seeing you online!
Patient interview: VrouwenHart Foundation
Dissemination of research-related information and even results often happens in a specific setting, for example at conferences or work-related meetings. However, the actual patients rarely talk to researchers and often do not understand how “their” disease is studied and what progress is made. The VrouwenHart Foundation was established by women with heart failure with the specific aim to close the gap between researchers, physicians, and patients to substantially improve how these parties inform each other about their efforts to understand sex-differences in disease. In this session, we will interview a heart failure patient about a patient’s perspective about how physicians deal with sex-differences, how science is slowly catching up and how relevant findings are shared with the patients.

Crazy Idea presentations
We hosted and awarded several Crazy Idea grants in 2017 and 2018. Contestants had to present their proposed projects in front of a the audiences of the respective Young@Heart events and the winners of received funding for their research. These grants were stepping stones for their careers, and supported the scientific development of these young researchers. Josine de Winter (VUMC; awarded 2017), Wouter Meijers (UMCG; awarded 2017) and Verena Schwach (UTwente; awarded 2018) will present their accomplishments during our upcoming event.

Keynote speaker: Prof. Bas Haring
The keynote speaker is Bas Haring! His expertise? Making science understandable for everyone. He is a professor at Leiden University and holds the chair of ‘Public understanding of science’ and he often appears on TV and provides lectures in various settings. He has also published award-winning (children’s) books in which he explains complex scientific issues in an accessible fashion, and was awarded the ‘Duidelijketaalprijs’ (clear-language prize) in 2016. Join the event to learn from Bas Haring as he shares his perspective about communicating science.

Collaborating across borders: DZHK session by Maarten van den Hoogenhof
The DCVA recently launched a major collaborative effort with the British (BHF) and German Heart Foundations (DZHK). To emphasize how researchers in the Netherlands and Germany can effectively collaborate, Maarten van den Hoogenhof will highlight some of the policies and procedures that are common in Germany with a focus on the DZHK. Maarten previously worked in Amsterdam and moved to Germany and is now intimately involved in the DZHK and the German equivalent of Young@Heart: the Young-DZHK.

Science to podcast: Lucas Brouwers
How does research end up in the news? How are the findings translated to an article in the daily paper or a podcast? Lucas Brouwers is science bureau chief at NRC and host of the weekly science podcast “NRC Onbehaarde Apen”. In his talk he will give unique insights into the process of selecting science and telling it to an audience in an enthusiastic and interesting manner.

Workshops
Workshops will be organized in parallel. You can only attend one workshop. Registration and attendance is free of charge, but the number of participants is limited. Please be aware that not attending after registering will exclude other interested participants.
Pitching your research (max. 20 participants)
Being able to pitch your research is a major skill that can help with your presentations, publications and most public relations. Pitching is all about distilling your complex research to its core, which you then present in a brief and coherent presentation or pitch. Once you are able to do that, you can discuss complex projects more easily.
Please note: you will be required to prepare a small task in preparation of this workshop to maximize its effect in a short time.

About the host: Anne van Kessel
Anne van Kessel graduated cum laude in 2011 from Radboud University with a master in Medical Biology and a specialization in Science Communication. After her graduation, she started working as a freelance science journalist. She writes about (medical) biology for newspapers and magazines like NRC, Quest and NEMO Kennislink. She has also written three popular science books. She regularly gives lectures in science journalism at various universities and she has worked part-time as a science information officer at Radboudumc for six years.
More info at: annevankessel.nl, LinkedIn, Twitter & Instagram
Storytelling
Crafting and designing an effective presentation is all about captivating your audience. Any kind of presentation (e.g., poster presentation, oral presentation, lab meetings, or even manuscripts) requires a specific structure and will fail without it. The best way to grasp this structure is by learning from a good story and its components. Good storytelling helps you to build up to a specific point you want to make and will keep you audience engaged (think about TED talks). Godfried and Tara will show you the ropes!
Please note: this workshop is hosted in Dutch (by Godfried) and in English (by Tara). Please register accordingly.

About the host: Godfried Hartkamp
I am a creative video maker with a journalistic background as a director for public and commercial television. I believe storytelling is the most powerful way to bring positive change. Every step towards a more beautiful and better world begins and with a story that connects and inspires people. My mission is to help people, brands or companies tell their story so that they are heard and seen. I do this as a producer of online video content, storytelling trainer / coach and as a freelance teacher of storytelling, video and digital media at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences in Creative Business.
More info at: verhaalmakers.nl & Linkedin

About the host: Tara Phillips
Tara Phillips is a British public speaking expert, trainer, and coach based in Amsterdam.
She draws on 15 years of experience to help people be seen as experts and authorities in their field; giving them the tools to influence, inspire and make things happen.
As a TEDx speaker coach since 2010, Tara has worked at events across Europe, with some talks going on TED.com reaching millions worldwide.
Predominantly working with international professionals in organisations such as TomTom, Adobe, Philips, Accenture, Tara is, however, accustomed to working with scientists. She has helped speakers communicate on subjects diverse as microscopy, stem cell research and plant-pathogen interactions! She is also a guest lecturer at the VU, for MA Science Communication students.
More info at: causeandaffectspeeches.com
Organizing committee



