DTU Chemical Engineering has successfully used cartoons and football analogies to explain complex research.
Scientific communication need not consist exclusively of elderly gentlemen in white lab coats talking with Lix counts as high as London house prices to make sure not to miss out a single nuance, context or complicated method. A team from DTU Chemical Engineering has joined forces with the German production company Goldener Western to produce a series of films about their research, which recently won the award for ‘best animation/cartoon’ at the Shortfest International film festival.
The background for the films was the need to communicate an EU-funded project about microfluidics in such a way that everyone could understand it. The solution proved to be a series of animated films that used a dopey professor figure and a sports analogy to make clear how and why tiny amounts of fluid can be utilized for experiments at micro-level—for example as micro-bioreactors that are accurate and secure and generate easily quantifiable results.
"We’re not trying to dumb down research, we simply want to reach a broad audience. If people want to take a look at the more scientific aspects of what we do, we have other departments that can help them do just that. "
Ulrich Krühne, Associate Professor at DTU Chemical Engineering
At this point in the written version, the average reader will already have lost interest—and this is exactly what the animated professor is intended to help avoid.
“The starting point of the project is the fact that we researchers live in our own little world, geekily working on problems that most people simply cannot fathom. We are now looking to bridge the gap by explaining what we do and why we do it in a way that appeals to a broad audience. It also has to do with the EU expecting that ordinary citizens—who actually fund our work after all—should understand what it is they’re paying for,” says Ulrich Krühne, Associate Professor at DTU Chemical Engineering and the brains behind the films.
“And, of course, the films are an attempt to stimulate enthusiasm among a slightly younger audience.”
The series of films is part of two EU-funded projects, BioIntense and EUROMBR, which were both conditional upon part of the project budget being devoted to communication.
Research for all
Initially, the idea of making animated films met with only a lukewarm response.
“It’s interesting to note that the general reaction was that many of our colleagues were afraid we were dumbing down our work. That was how many people reacted to start with,” adds Ulrich Krühne, who is quick to point out that it did not take long to silence the critics.
“We’re not trying to dumb down research, we simply want to reach a broad audience. If people want to take a look at the more scientific aspects of what we do, we have other departments that can help them do just that. So it makes sense for us to attempt to capture the attention of people with whom we don’t usually interact,” he says.
“The more progress we made with the project, the more pleased people were with it, and at conferences—most recently during the ‘Day of Research’ event—we have screened the films for both young children and retired researchers. Everyone took something away from the films, and they served as the starting point for ongoing dialogue.”
Ulrich Krühne makes no secret of the fact that the creative communication of research is an area he is keen to focus on more strongly in the future:
“OK, it was expensive and took a long time to make, and I may have attended fewer conference than I normally would, but I’ve received a much better response and I have an extremely pleased project manager in the EU. This is something I’m not likely to forget in a hurry. I’ve already started including more e-learning, and I’m producing my own teaching videos.”
Watch the films
To watch the films, go to worldofmicrofluidics.com