Centre of Competence WissKomm Academy

Science in a nutshell.

The WissKomm Academy is the centre of competence for science communication at the Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz, funded by Rhineland-Palatinate, and operates as an organisationally independent entity. It brings together the Academy’s activities under three pillars: dialogue-oriented event formats, skills training for researchers across all disciplines and career stages, and the Academy Prize for Science Journalism. In addition, it develops training programmes, including workshops for school pupils on how to interpret scientific information and deal with fake news. From 2026, the WissKomm Academy will also coordinate cross-academy skills training at other academies.

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Event Formats

The events organised by the WissKomm Academy are dedicated, on the one hand, to reflecting on core issues in science communication and key topics in science, with the aim of gaining a better understanding of them and making them more accessible to society. Furthermore, through networking events and digital formats, the WissKomm Academy introduces stakeholders from various fields of science communication and science, bringing them together to exchange ideas and jointly develop questions and potential solutions.

The WissKomm Academy’s events are dialogue-oriented and pursue innovative, interactive and participatory approaches, particularly in the networking events of the ‘Treffpunkt WissKomm’ series and in the digital expert discussion ‘WissKomm Express-O’.

Competence Training

The WissKomm Academy offers researchers at all career stages and from all disciplines at academic institutions in Rhineland-Palatinate a practical series of seminars designed to strengthen their communication and media skills in science communication. Supported by an experienced team of trainers, participants benefit from a close integration of theory and practice, as well as an intensive exchange of experiences. They become familiar with analogue and digital formats of science communication, develop a personalised communication strategy, formulate messages tailored to specific audiences, simplify complex topics, strengthen their rhetorical skills, and learn to conduct themselves confidently even in controversial discussions.

The seminar series comprises three core modules that build on one another:
Module 1: Presentation rhetoric with presenter and coach Gabriele Schweickhardt
Module 2: Interviews and panel discussions with journalist and author Dennis Gastmann
Module 3: Communication in the digital sphere with editor and social media manager Benedikt Böcker

The modules are closely interlinked in terms of content and are complemented by an introductory module on the role and self-image of researchers as communicators, and a concluding module in which participants develop a strategy for their own science communication.

Academy Award for Science Journalism

Every two years, the Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz awards the Academy Prize for Science Journalism to outstanding journalistic works that communicate a complex topic currently engaging the scientific community to the public in a clear and precise manner. The key selection criterion is not only the social relevance of the topic, but also the search for pieces in which the interdisciplinary nature of major contemporary and future issues is excellently presented and discussed.

Science Communication

The Academy addresses the core issues of science communication, brings together expertise, provides fresh impetus, and explores the opportunities, challenges and limitations of modern, contemporary science communication. Its aim is to communicate scientific content in a way that is both understandable and trustworthy, to clarify uncertainties, to reach new audiences, and to create spaces for dialogue that foster public engagement.

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Activities

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Contact

Dr. Aglaia Schieke

Telephone: +49 6131 577 114

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