Projet de recherche et communication scientifique

Course content

Introduction to the course: principles of science communication, report writing, bibliographical search, oral presentation, etc.
Individual project: written report (literature study) on a geoscientific topic of choice, followed by an oral presentation in front of the class. The topic will be guided by a key scientific paper that will be used by the student as a starting point for their literature study.
Group project: preparation of educational material destined to the wider public (e.g. poster, video, demonstration) on a predefined theme; presentation of this material during the “Printemps des Sciences”. The exact modalities will be defined and communicated by the team of InforSciences.

Objectives (and/or specific learning outcomes)

The objective of this course is to familiarise oneself with different styles of scientific communication (written, oral, poster, outreach) and to learn to use a bibliographical reference manager software which can be used in the future, for example for the Master dissertation.

Teaching methods and learning activities

In-person sessions:

Introduction to the course and modalities
Guided exercises on bibliography, including the demonstration of a reference manager software
Intermediate feedback session on a draft version of the literature study
Pair-pair feedback session on the final version of the literature study
Oral presentation of individual project

Personal work:

Bibliographical search and writing of literature study (individual report), preparation of the presentation
Group work for the “Printemps des Sciences”. The number of group members varies in function of the number of students registered for the course, as well as the work requested by InforSciences.

Course notes

Université virtuelle

Contribution to the teaching profile

Scientific communication is an important key skill for modern-day scientists and professionals. It includes communication in different formats (e.g. written, oral) and also towards diverse audiences (e.g. fellow scientists, the general public).

This course prepares the student to the writing of a professional report in the form of a scientific literature study, including the structured development of scientific arguments and a reference list. The course prepares the student to other report writing and oral presentations later in their educational programme (including the Master dissertation) and their further career.

In the second part of the course, the student learns to work in a team, and gets training in different forms of scientific communication (oral, poster, etc.) and outreach towards the wider public.

Other information

Contacts

Karen Fontijn
Karen.Fontijn@ulb.be

Sandra Arndt
Sandra.Arndt@ulb.be

Campus

Solbosch

Evaluation

Method(s) of evaluation

Project
Other

Project

Other

Bibliographical search: the exercises are not marked, but participation to the sessions is compulsory.

Individual written report: the report of max. 10 pages is evaluated by a teacher affiliated to the Geology section and whose expertise most closely matches that of the topic chosen. The report is also evaluated by another student registered to the course (peer evaluation). An evaluation grid will be distributed at the start of the course.

Oral presentation: the oral presentation of 10 minutes will be followed by 5 minutes of questions. It will be evaluated by a teacher affiliated to the Geology section, using an evaluation grid.

Reports and presentations are due by the end of the first semester; the exact dates will be decided in agreement with the students, depending on their timetables. There is only one evaluation per academic year for this written work and the presentation.

The use of generative artificial intelligence tools is not permitted to write the report, except to correct spelling and grammatical errors. In that case, this use needs to be explicitly mentioned in the report. During the oral presentation, the student will need to demonstrate their comprehension of the topic and their critical thinking in the buildup of scientific arguments. All other suspected usage of (G)IA will be evaluated and, if needed, sanctioned as per the General Study Regulations.

Group work: evaluated based on the presented content and style, and participation to the “Printemps des Sciences”. Each group member will obtain the same mark for the submitted work. There is only one evaluation per academic year for this work.

Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)

Individual report: 40% (of which 30% are given by a teacher in Geology; 10% by a fellow student).

Oral presentation: 20%

Group work for Printemps des Sciences: 40%

Each part (participation to bibliography exercises, submission of individual report, group work and its presentation) is compulsory in order to obtain a final mark for the course.

Language(s) of evaluation

french