200 Early Career attendees of the International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB) ECR Day hosted at University of Queensland St Lucia Campus. Credit: David Crisante Future Science Talks
The ECR Day for Conservation Scientists built off the long standing tradition in training excellence by Society for Conservation Biology Oceania (SCBO) but took a new tack with new partnerships. A recent survey conducted by the SCB Social Science Working Group of early and mid-career researchers (EMCR) in the conservation science and related fields identified that emerging skills needs in this field focus on soft skills, while other more targeted hard skill needs are typically covered through more traditional training spaces such as through postgraduate degree programs. SCBO partnered with the University of Tasmania and Future Science Talks to identify novel ways to deliver on these soft skills and landed on a solution – bring together diverse training models all grounded in communication theory and some trade tricks from comedy.
The day was led by Dr Courtney Melton (SCBO), Prof Vanessa Adams (UTas) and David Crisante (Future Science Talks) and was hosted at the University of Queensland St Lucia Campus, with 200 participants from across the world in attendance. Attendees had fun start to the day with Future Science Talks learning about body language and effective communication followed by choices for different short courses including:
- How to be a good mentee/mentor
- How to present your best speed presentation
- Crafting your elevator pitch
- Communicating to public audiences
Key training needs addressed were soft skills such as communication and conflict resolution. Attendees got to hone their improv and comedy skills to start the day and then take these into the classroom for practice. Credit: Vanessa Adams, University of Tasmania
ECR day attendees were armed with new training skills and the chance to build new friendships with their conservation peers before heading to the full International Congress for Conservation Biology which brought together ~2,000 conservation scientists from around the world. Attendees were encouraged to practice their new skills in networking with peers and potential future collaborators. 6 attendees were identified prior to the day to also participate in broader science comedy training program and then performed in a public event. This was a unique opportunity to showcase fantastic ECR conservation science to a wide audience as well as to demonstrate ethe value of tailored communication skills.
ECR day attendees took their improv and communication skills from the morning into the classroom. Credit: Vanessa Adams, University of Tasmania.
Highlights
- Powerful new skills: delivering on the soft skills our future conservation leaders need.
- Networking and collaboration: the event facilitated meaningful connections, fostering collaboration among 200 ECRs, conservation science leaders and practitioners.
- Engaging a wide audience: taking stories of conservation research and success to a public audience (500+ attendees – see it here) using the trained soft skills in comedy and communication.
The ECR Day at the International Congress for Conservation Biology received grant funding from the Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia), administered by the Australian Academy of Science.