Scientific communication skills

Duration

10h Th, 20h Pr

Number of credits

Lecturer

Michael Herfs

Language(s) of instruction

English language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

After a brief introduction explaining the reasons for offering a course on scientific communication in the biomedical field, the main forms of scientific communication - oral (flash and long-form presentations), written (articles, theses), and mixed (posters) - are discussed in detail.
Both the structure and content of each form of communication are examined in depth. Particular attention is paid to practical guidance and the tools needed to achieve effective, precise, and well-structured written and oral communication that meets international standards.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

At the end of the course, students should be able to

 

• prepare a clear and well-structured PowerPoint presentation for an oral presentation and deliver it in English to an audience;
• develop a scientific poster based on results reported in the scientific literature (more specifically, from a scientific article published after 2020 and containing at least 6 figures and 8 different experimental techniques) and present and defend it in English before an audience, including in response to questions.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

• The student must be familiar with the basic functions of Word or related word-processing software and be able to write a structured text in clear and grammatically correct English.
  
  
• The student must be familiar with the basic functions of PowerPoint or related presentation software.
  
  
• The student must have a sufficient scientific background to understand the results and basic techniques presented in a scientific article published in the scientific literature in recent years (after 2021).
  
  
• The student must have previously taken English courses.
  
  

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

-Théorical: ex-cathedra course in English (mainly)

-Practical: students are invited to

 

• perform in English, on the basis of a scientific article, a poster and defend it.
• create a "flash" oral presentation in English and present it in front of the other students. The goal is to gain experience in both types of presentation (oral and written). During these activities, the students are, of course, supervised and guided.

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Face-to-face course


Further information:

Face-to-face (on-site) course


Additional information:

at the University (theorical and practical)

Course materials and recommended or required readings

Platform(s) used for course materials:
- MyULiège


Further information:

The slides and associated comments are provided before the first course (PowerPoint or PDF file). This file is uploaded to MyUliege.

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

oral exam

Out-of-session test(s)


Further information:

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

oral exam


Additional information:

-During practical sessions: the students will be evaluated on
 

• their ability to identify a topic, address it from a scientific perspective, and prepare a clear and well-structured PowerPoint presentation for a "flash" oral presentation (25% of the final grade);
  
  
• their ability to deliver the previously prepared PowerPoint presentation orally, in a dynamic manner and in front of an audience. The presentation must be given in English (25% of the final grade). This presentation will take place in November (during the practical sessions);
  
  
• their ability to identify the "essential" results of a scientific article and prepare a scientific poster in English presenting these results (25% of the final grade). The poster must be submitted by December 20 at the latest.
  
  

• their ability to present a scientific poster, individually, in English and to answer in English the questions related to the presented results  (25% of the final grade).

• Exempt student: see previous point

• Non-Exempt Student: The ability to present a scientific poster in English and to answer questions in english about the presented results will be evaluated. The first 3 points related to the flash presentation and poster (see above) will, of course, be also evaluated.

Work placement(s)

None

Organisational remarks and main changes to the course

The practical work will take place in a computer room (Lapière room). 

Contacts

Michael Herfs, Laboratory of Experimental Pathology, B23 Tower +4, 04 366 42 82, M.Herfs@uliege.be

Association of one or more MOOCs

Items online