Young scientists not only need excellent research skills but also ability to communicate well. Scientific papers boost a career. Sharing results with non-scientists brings new knowledge into use, which is what funders want.

But communication is a neglected topic in MSc programmes and good mentors for building such skills on-the-job are scarce.  So science gets stuck on the shelf. Better capacity in this field would help.

Seventy-five young agricultural scientists from fifteen countries in Sub-Saharan Africa recently achieved just that, at three regional training courses held in Benin, Kenya and Zimbabwe in October and November 2015.

‘This will help us in our day to day life as scientists and also help us uplift the standards of quality communication of research results in our institution’ said Gabriel Ddamulira, an agronomist at the National Crops Resources Research Institute, Uganda, who attended the Kenyan course.

The courses are part of a larger project to strengthen capacity, education and policy for upgrading value chains of neglected and underutilized African crops, such as Bambara groundnut and amaranth. It is supported by the Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) Science & Technology Programme and funded by the European Union during 2014–2016.

The week-long courses were co-organized by the International Foundation for Science (IFS), Sweden, Bioversity International, Italy, University of Nairobi, Kenya, Africa University, Zimbabwe and the Laboratory of Biotechnology, Genetic Resources and Animal and Plant Breeding (BIORAVE) of the University of Abomey-Calavi in Benin.

The course mixed short lectures with group exercises in which participants’ own draft manuscripts were in focus. Giving and receiving constructive critique was a key learning method, which kept the motivation high.  How to write a good title and a good abstract were appreciated topics. A questions such as ‘Why is this poster terrible?’ was debated lively. The concept of ‘predatory journal’ was new to most trainees.

Communicating with non-scientist was an eye-opener. A role-play to explain a science project to a taxi driver, a donor, a school class or a journalist in just two minutes generated a lot of interest.  Linking research to solving problem on the ground via a ‘theory of change’ was new thinking to many trainees. But participants often found it difficult to extract the key message from a research project, which needed to be communicated.

Regional networking was a positive side effect.  Connecting with like-minded peers in other countries helps the future sharing of experiences and can be the start of research collaboration. Two new facebook groups are now keeping the communication flowing among the trainees.