Dr. Geertje van Keulen is an Associate Professor in the Institute of Life Science in the College of Medicine at Swansea University and her research focusses on the microbiology of natural antibiosis and resistance to antibiotics and metals, microbial adaptation to drought and bioengineering of water repellency coatings of manmade and natural materials. Her research team works in highly interdisciplinary collaborative projects with soil scientists, materials engineers, hydrologists, nanotechnologists and modellers funded by NERC, EPSRC and the Royal Society. Geertje is the lead-organiser of Soapbox Science Swansea, an annual public beach science event showcasing the exciting research of women in STEM subjects, and is a founder member of SwanSTEMWoMen.
“…The women who take part as speakers are thrilled about taking part and putting their science and technologies out there. They’re also excited about taking it to a part of the public who would normally not be seen in science festivals or at university open days because they don’t feel it’s for them…”
Background to Soapbox Science
Soapbox Science in Swansea started off last year when our Pro Vice Chancellor Professor Hilary Lappin-Scott got excited after participating in Soapbox Science in London. She thought it was a brilliant concept and managed to get other women in science and technology at Swansea University involved in organising it in Swansea.
So we kicked off. Some of us had never done any public engagement activities before, apart from open days etc., so we were all excited as it was new skills development for us as well.
So we set off and in the beginning of July 2014 we had a brilliant event with brilliant weather and one of our volunteers, Alice Gray, blogged with you about the success of our event. We’re having a new event in Swansea on June 6th this year. What we’re aiming for is to bring the top women scientist and technologists in Wales to the forefront, meaning the beach in Swansea Bay.
Four women at the same time and far enough apart from each other physically will speak about their science and technology developments, what they’ve and their research groups or companies have been up to and go into discussion with the audience too.
There were women in academic life, but also from industry, including women in small and medium sized enterprises.
More than just a day at the beach
Soapbox Science at Swansea is held at the beach outside the 360 Beach Watersports Café. If you say, “I’m going to the beach,” you don’t normally associate that with science and technology or exciting things to be heard there. So the beach is more than just a bit of sand – it’s where you can get information and become enthused about science and technology.
Simple ideas are the best
The women who take part as speakers are thrilled about taking part and putting their science and technologies out there. They’re also excited about taking it to a part of the public who would normally not be seen in science festivals or at university open days because they don’t feel it’s for them. Soapbox Science aims to just be in a position in a city where the general public is present and to try to grab their attention and get them thinking about careers and changing the perception of what women can do in science and technology.
Get involved
The call for speakers has just opened. It’s open until 22nd February. Speakers with a good science or technology story can nominate themselves and that is can be done for all seven cities where Soapbox Science events are held this year. There is an application form on Soapboxscience.org and there is a link to the application page, which can be a simple Google Docs application form or a form that you fill out and send to the organisers of the particular city’s event.
The original Soapbox Science city is London, on the Southbank. Only last year it was extended to Swansea, Bristol, Dublin, (this year the location is changing to Belfast). The three new cities for this year are Exeter, Newcastle and Glasgow, so it’s for women in science and technology anywhere in the UK or the British Isles. There should be a location nearby to apply to.
Schools
Schools can definitely get in touch. There are email addresses on the application pages for specific cities, so if schools want to get in touch then I’d advise them to do it with the organisers directly. We would welcome interactions with schools.
Everyone is welcome from toddler to old age pensioner
The event is on the weekend, so it’s usually a Saturday or a Sunday, so families can also come or it can be school organised. Everyone is welcome, from toddler to old age pensioner.
In addition to the call for speakers, all the organisations will also need a bunch of volunteers to help run the event. There are roles for volunteers prior to the event, e.g. helping with making a blog or helping with a video podcast and things like that about speakers. On the day we need volunteers to help run the event and to help the speakers with their props and to engage with the audience.
Afterwards we are also keen to get volunteers to blog about the event throughout the country and talk about their experiences. You don’t necessarily have to have an expertise in technology or science. There are many roles and many functions.
Geertje tweets about her and others’ science interests from @GeertjevanK
https://twitter.com/SoapboxScience
