SAYAS BLOG

With a difference!

The SAYAS Blog ran for many years with the same formula. Towards the end of each year we would put out an advert for the SAYAS Blogging Competition – entrants needed to submit a blog post in which they introduced themselves and the work they are doing as either postgraduates or postdocs in South Africa. A panel of members of SAYAS would then evaluate the 100+ submissions to choose just four bloggers.

Over the years, you have met these cohorts of bloggers. Each month, you would hear from each of the four bloggers, and would follow their journey through the year. These bloggers represented different fields of science, and different universities. But… it was only four bloggers. And only those four (of over a hundred) bloggers received the training in science communication.

This year we tried something different. We allowed everyone who was interested in applying to attend a workshop on Science Communication. The workshop took place during an afternoon in early August via Zoom. Presenters included Ozayr Patel and Sheree Bega from the Mail and Guardian, our former SAYAS Bloggers Dr Mauro Lourenco who spoke about his post on the IPCC 6th Assessment Report, Lonwabo Makapela who spoke about how her blog posts helped her process living in three countries during one year of her PhD, and Mukhtaar Waja who spoke about #dayinthelife vlogging and how it helped him focus in on his discussion chapter edits. I also spoke to the group about elevator pitches.

Following the workshop, the participants were then able to write and submit a blogpost to appear on the SAYAS blog. Yes – every participant would be able to appear on this blog. They could write on their journey as a postgraduate student, or their field of science, or both. They had a week to do this. Over the next few months you will be reading their posts.

Do you have 100 posts to read – interestingly no! Although a lot of people showed initial interest, only 28 people attended the workshop, and only 7 submitted blog posts. Only 6 revised theirs on time. We hope to repeat this process in future years – because that is still 2 more people blogging than we would normally have, and 24 more people receiving science communication training. The disjunct between interest and enthusiasm, however, is interesting.

Science communication is an important step in bridging the gap between paywalled scientific papers and the general public. It remains a key interest of the South African Young Academy of Science, and certainly a key interest of mine. Just last month, I was the very proud recipient of the 2023-2024 NSTF Communications Award, and of course – all in the name of a good hook – I dressed up in a Taylor Swift at the Grammy’s inspired outfit! And I guess it brought me luck. It goes to show, that while we all have the pressure of publishing, lecturing, admin and feedback to our co-authors, science communication increasingly is being recognised in the Academic space.

So – enjoy the next few months of blogs from a wider range of students, from a broader reach of scientific domains, and hopefully these will encourage you to venture into science communication

2023 is lurching to an end, and the world is once again possessed by that strange, end-of-year feeling. As we sit in the twilight of 2023, it’s near impossible not to reflect on the year we just survived, and the years we still need to weather. I can feel the weight of the year on my shoulders; I can still taste the anger and pain of the bad days; I can still grasp the warmth and joy of the good days; I’m still not totally sure if I’m using semi-colons correctly. But right now, when I sit and look back at this year, I feel proud. I feel energised, invigorated – more than I’ve felt in a hot minute (and take it from a biometeorologist, the minutes are only getting hotter each year). I don’t think this is necessarily normal, and it’s entirely possible I’ve lost my fragile mind, but if the price of happiness is insanity, I’ll pay it every time! So, indulge me, dear reader, and let me regale you with the tale of my journey through 2023…

I can still remember the day in January, when I showed my parents my first SAYAS blog. I can still remember how excited I was to see people’s reactions, to see people following me on Twitter (it’s called X now, but I’m loath to call it that), and to have a creative outlet where I could write all the weird things I want to write. Our poor editor has had her hands full trying to streamline all of my verbose nonsense, and her guidance has been of immeasurable value. Writing these blogs has been a highlight of my year, because I am without a doubt, my own biggest fan. I cannot even begin to describe how fun it was to make the vlogs! I don’t know why SAYAS let me make half the things I made, but I will be forever grateful for the opportunity.

Aside from SAYAS, this year was defined by non-stop academic triumph! And a lot of burn out and imposter syndrome, but mostly academic triumph! I don’t think I’ve told you yet, dear reader, but I recently submitted my dissertation for examination! I have spent the last few days celebrating with everyone I love most – revelling, rejoicing, basking, and, yes, even exulting a time or two. It has been a wonderful couple of days, dear reader. I started the year knee deep in data collection for my research. There is such a joy to conducting research, learning new things, and contributing to the creation of knowledge – and one of the most exciting parts of that process for me was collecting data through interviews. Starting to see patterns emerging in the data, and actually starting to form answers for the questions you’ve been asking is immensely rewarding. Taking all of the data I collected, analysing it, and pulling it all together into a cohesive argument was both challenging and electrifying. Knowing that you’re approaching the end of your dissertation – getting that much closer to the end of your degree – is a feeling like nothing else. I felt genuinely emotional when I looked at my complete dissertation, gripped by a sense of disbelief. There were so many days where I thought I was a failure, that I would never complete my degree, that I was wasting everyone’s time. Reading through my work, thinking about all the effort behind it, made me feel strong. It made me feel confident. It seems silly to have doubted myself so much, to have had such little faith in myself.

This year reminded me that I don’t suck as much as I think I do. The year reminded me that I shouldn’t give into malaise and stagnation, that it’s important to feel passionate, and excited about the things you’re doing. 2023 reminded me that I need to trust myself more, that I can be the person I want to be as long as I am willing to put in the effort. This year was a hard year. This year was a good year. I don’t know what the next year will bring, but I know I’m going to get through it. It has been a great privilege to share my writing with you, dear reader. I’m going to miss you, but I’m sure we’ll meet again… Until next time, thank you.