How can I communicate about my research? Through which channels do I reach my target groups? How much time should I invest in science communication? At our Sommerabend on 28 June, researchers from the UA Ruhr universities shared their experiences and gave insights into their activities on these and many other questions.

Research Academy Ruhr and the working group "Applied Science Communication" of the VII Global Young Faculty (GYF) had jointly invited to the Sommerabend for Postdocs at Ruhr-Universität Bochum last Tuesday. Dr. Maximilian Krug, communication scientist at UDE and GYF VII member, moderated the panel discussion on science communication and social media with UA Ruhr researchers Dr. Véronique Sina, Dr. Malte Elson, Dr. Stéphane Kenmoe, and Dr. Sebastian Tacke.

After the welcome by RAR speaker Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Löwenstein, the guests on the panel gave an insight into their activities on various social media channels, blogs, podcasts, and at public events. The discussion focused on experiences and opinions on questions as:

• What is the motivation for engaging in science communication?
• Which tools are suitable for which target group(s)?
• How much support is needed for professional science communication?
• How can the "success" or effect of science communication be measured?
• What time and financial resources are available for science communication in everyday research?
• How does the cooperation between scientists and PR departments or press offices work?

The panelists agreed that science communication works best when researchers enjoy communicating and that support structures and funding need to be improved if researchers are increasingly expected to communicate publicly.