Writing for non-peers and press

Purpose of this workshop - by Ann De Ron of FishGrowFeet - is to offer practical tools to write your own popular scientific blog, press release, opinion article, magazine article, magazine or online article, policy text, report, brochure, email to people participating in your research or any other popular scientific text. The workshop is also useful if you want to contribute to texts by press officers or (science) journalists.

Generative AI-models like ChatGPT can help your writing, but it stays up to you to carefully chose your key message adapted to your own purpose and audience. Therefore, crafting your key message will be the main focus of this workshop.

You will learn how this key message will be the start of an appropriate text structure and find how it differs from the structure of an academic publication. We will discuss ways to attract your reader, look at ways to deal with jargon, how to craft a good title, and what is an appealing and concrete writing style.

This workshop is hands-on: you will work on your own text. You will give and receive feedback on text outlines of fellow participants, and you will receive personal feedback from the trainer during the second day.

Learning outcomes

After the workshop, you will ...

• have obtained insight in the differences between writing for peers and writing for non-peers,
• know the importance of key message and pyramid structure to make a text attractive to non-peers,
• be able to constructively contribute to texts written by press officers or (science) journalists,
• have practical tools to write your own text for non-specialists of press: a popular scientific blog, press release, opinion article, magazine or online article, policy text, report, brochure or an email to people participating in your research, ...

Competences

An important part of preparing for any further professional step is becoming (more) aware of the competences you have developed and/or want to develop. In the current workshop, the following competences from the UHasselt competency overview are actively dealt with:

• academic research competences:
  
  • valorisation
• interpersonal competences:
  
  • written communication
  • stakeholder awareness
  • customer-orientedness
    
    

For whom?

• PhD students (preferably with some research results already) & postdocs
• 12 places available

When and where?

• May 15, 2025 - 09:30-17:00 (real-life)- campus Hasselt - Old Prison - FR-1.05
• May 22, 2025 - 09:30-17:00 (digitally)
• Participation on both days is required. 

Details?

• This edition will be in English. Next year, this training will be given in Dutch.
• The first workshop day is a real-life session at UHasselt.
• You write your own text (draft) for the second workshop day.
• The second workshop day is organized digitally, allowing feedback sessions in small groups with the trainer, discussing your own text and questions. The day starts with a group session.

Registration?

• Participants Hasselt University: You can register here from February 3, 2025 until April 29, 2025. 
• Please register only if you can attend both sessions. As places are limited, registering does not automatically imply that you will be able to participate. You will be notified by email in due time.
• Please cancel your registration at least one week in advance in case you cannot make it (cf. cancellation & no-show policy).

Acknowledged as?

• DS BSH: category 'research management & communication skills' - workshop on communication skills OR category 'IP, valorisation & science communication' (if you prefer the latter, please send an email to doctoralschools@uhasselt.be)
• DS HLS: category 'transferable skills' - one compulsory elective course
• DS ST: category 'scientific & generic communication' - course about generic communication