On 30 May, FABI in collaboration with Future Africa held a podcasting workshop facilitated by Anina Mumm of Sciencelink. Podcasts are an effective means of science communication, offering information to listeners on many audio platforms.

Professor Bernard Slippers opened the workshop by highlighting the importance of science communication channels, such as podcasting, for researchers and society. Participants were encouraged to consider the aim, target audience and appropriate platform for their envisioned podcasts during the workshop. Working groups were guided to prepare and present short podcasts at the end of the insightful workshop.

A number of FABIans joined the workshop on worked on developing podcast activities. Morné Booij-Liewes, Darryl Herron, Dr Gudrun DittrichSchroder and Namhla Tshisela worked on potential FABI podcasts. They identified podcasts ideas, such as profiling career stories of FABIans, capturing project development for funders and highlighting research to attract students into the tree health field. These podcasts could offer incredible information to funders, undergraduate students, secondary school learners and the public in an audibly pleasing format. FABIans Dr Eshchar Mizrachi and Bernard Slippers worked with Amelia Cilliers and Smeetha Singh on developing podcasts to promote the activities and programmes of Future Africa.

Participants also joined from the Department of Physics, The Institute for Food, Nutrition and Well-being and the Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology. A number of these participants are also fellows of the Africa Science Leadership Programme (ASLP) and the Tuks Young Research Leader Programme (TYRLP).

If you would like to learn more about podcasts contact Smeetha Singh.

Visit these platforms for a range of science related podcasts:

Big Picture Science; Radiolab; The Naked Scientists; Science Friday; Undiscovered