Goodbye Scriptie vzw 👋 Welcome SciMingo 🦩

BRUSSELS - Scriptie vzw, the organisation behind projects such as the Flemish Thesis Prize and the Flemish PhD Cup, will dissapear. The name, not the organisation nor its projects. 'We are spreading our wings under the new name SciMingo. With the ambition, more than ever, of coaching young researchers in strong and balanced science communication,' says coordinator Arnaud Zonderman.

During the corona year 2020, the organisation celebrated its 15th anniversary. She looked back on the beautiful road that has been travelled and determined the route for the coming years. In doing so, she sharpened her mission.

'We want to promote science communication and aim especially at young researchers', says Zonderman. 'We want to encourage them to communicate about their research to the general public and teach them how best to do so. More than ever, we will offer scientists guidance, promotional opportunities and connect them with the press and the public.'

This should help a new generation of researchers emerge who are aware of the importance of science communication and who invest time and energy in it from the start of their careers. The aim is to maximise the flow of scientific research and knowledge to society and to strengthen public support for science.

From now on, the organisation is called 'SciMingo' - a contraction of 'science' & 'flamingo'. A more original and playful name that better matches the target group. Flamingo? 'For a researcher, science communication is a balancing act: a scientist wants to be as complete and nuanced as possible, while the public expects more to-the-point communication. SciMingo will help researchers find the right balance - how to address the public without denying themselves or their research. Like flamingos, masters of balance.'

The team at SciMingo

👉 Browse our projects, including the upcoming SciComm academy