As a ‘face’, Mesch will blog, vlog and hold presentations. Private photo. The KNAW (Royal Dutch Academy of Science) selected twelve talented doctoral candidates to report on their daily lives and work as Faces of Science. WUR doctoral candidate Anouk Mesch is among them.
Through Faces of Science, Mesch will share her experiences as a young scientist. She is eager to begin, she says. ‘Normally, you only publish once your research is completed, and in the meantime, you only share with colleagues and fellow scientists. As Face of Science, you have the opportunity to use low-threshold communication to reach out to a wider audience.’
Science communications
The KNAW’s Faces of Science initiative is directed at prospective students currently in secondary school and students who are considering a career in science. The idea is that the ‘faces’ use blogs, vlogs and presentations on facesofscience.nl to offer a look into their daily lives. They are offered workshops and courses in various forms of science communications.
Mesch will share a lot on ‘her’ SWITCH project. She contributes to this project from a position in the Education and Learning Science group and the Consumption and Healthy Life Styles group. This interdisciplinary project focuses on healthy and sustainable eating habits among secondary school students. Communication is key. ‘The project has many stakeholders, from the government to secondary schools to commercial parties such as catering businesses.’
Predecessors
This is the tenth time that the KNAW has appointed a group of ‘faces’. Other Faces of Science from Wageningen are microbiologists Wen Ying Wu and Nico Claassens, socio-ecologist / mathematician Koen de Koning, sports scientist Monique Simons (VU at the time, now an assistant professor at WUR) and communications scientist Sanne Kruikemeier (UvA at the time, now a professor at WUR).
That Mesch is now added to this list is in no small part the result of the lobby by postdoc and SWITCH project member Sanne Raghoebar. ‘She has a lot of affinity with science communications and thought this would fit me, especially because communication is such a vital part of SWITCH’, says Mesch. As soon as her first message is posted online, Resource will report on it.
