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Words by Ipshita Zutshi Edited by Laurie Herviou & Conchi Izquierdo Climate change, deadly pandemics and diseases - the argument is often made that the world now, more than ever, is in dire need of scientifically-driven policy making strategies. While true, we would argue that the world has always needed science diplomacy, and moreover, there have always been highly talented professionals navigating these uncharted waters of what we now call science diplomacy. With an increasing push to standardize this profession to make it a more linear path, INet NYC organized a career development panel discussion on Monday, May 18th, 2020, called “Science Diplomacy: how one can foster the other?”.  The event was spearheaded by INet NYC board member Laurie Herviou, a postdoctoral researcher at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and brilliantly moderated by Alessandro Allegra. The invited panelists included Dr Alicia Pérez-Porro, Dr Lorenzo Melchor, Dr Melania Guerra, Dr Jean-Christophe Mauduit, Dr Marga Gual Soler, and Dr Jessica Tome Garcia (Detailed bios for each of the panelists are provided at the bottom of this article). The outcome of their efforts is a goldmine of information for opportunities to transition to a career in science diplomacy. We hope that you can walk away (or rather, scroll away) having learnt a little more about this truly exciting profession. You can also watch the full video of the discussion here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux25ANzPm1c.  We used the transcript of the panel discussion to generate a word cloud of the most commonly used terms during the discussion (using www.wordclouds.com). Check out the buzzwords in this field! So what is science diplomacy? As Alessandro perfectly summarized, “science diplomacy is an umbrella-term that means different things to different people”. He explained that those pursuing science diplomacy often are “hybrid creatures'' of sorts, developing multiple skills and juggling various responsibilities. They hail from various backgrounds, often starting off as scientists, diplomats or social scientists, and perhaps because of this diversity, the very definition of science diplomacy is quite amorphous. Broadly however, all our panelists defined science diplomacy as the interactive medium by which academia, governments, international institutions, private companies, NGOs and regional organizations all connect using science as the common language. As for why the world needs science diplomacy, we highly resonate with the opinion voiced by Jessica, “I don't understand global development without science. I don't understand sustainable development without science. And I don't understand governments without scientists in their parliaments.” What motivated you to pursue science diplomacy? The most consistent drive towards a career in science diplomacy was the general feeling of being “trapped in academia”. For almost all the panelists, there came a turning point in their career, either at the end of their PhDs, or during their post-doc, where they began to question the impact of the work they do - “I felt I was staring into the wall of a cave without being totally aware of how vast the world is”, or “I didn’t want to spend my time in front of a microscope in a dark room alone”, were some phrases heard. Some of the panelists such as Alicia and Melanie described their turning points as “Aha!” moments where certain experiences made everything click for them (Admittedly, their jaw-dropping experiences in Antarctica or in the Bering Strait certainly sounded Aha-worthy). Other panelists such as JC and Lorenzo described this process as a more gradual process of self-discovery, from a course taken, or exposure through volunteering at an organization, that slowly shaped their path. How did you start your career in science diplomacy? Given how diverse and multi-faceted the field of science diplomacy is, it is perhaps unsurprising that the paths taken by our panelists were equally varied. For most of our panelists, fellowships (most of them UN-based fellowships), Royal Societies, workshops and field trips acted as the first steps to transitioning to a career in science diplomacy (For a comprehensive list of these fellowships, scroll down to the ‘useful links and resources section’). Almost all panelists also highlighted the role of mentors in this process, where often finding the right mentor is the first step towards learning how to make this transition. A crucial point raised by Alessandro, JC and Marga, is that this process is not necessarily always linear. It sometimes becomes necessary to take a few steps back, to pursue a masters degree, or an unpaid internship, after already having received a PhD. In fact almost all our panelists went on to complete their master’s degrees in policy after their PhDs, because those programs would give them the necessary visibility and knowledge of the international framework. All the panelists stressed however, that these temporary pauses should not be looked at as setbacks, and that these courses are well worth the extra time. Furthermore, there are now greater efforts to make this career path more linear with more streamlined courses and trajectories available. Given the variety of trajectories one can take to transition, we understand that decision for the ‘right’ path can seem quite overwhelming. Here, we hope that JC’s advice may provide some respite, “It is important to remember that there is no one skill, or one clear educational pathway or trajectory to follow. The field is constantly being defined, and the way to teach knowledge and skills will also continue to be shaped and refined in the coming years.” What skills help for a successful career in science diplomacy? Perhaps the most common advice given by our panelists was to cultivate the ability to communicate. As Melanie rightly said, “If you have the ability of simplifying the science, dealing with the uncertainty around predictions, and maneuvering them into something that can actually lead to action for the policymakers, that is one of the biggest strengths that you can have.” This advice was backed up by Lorenzo who also recommended that one must have, “Entrepreneurship creativity and the ability to multitask because you’ll have to develop quite a lot of projects at once”. Our panelists also recommended developing “soft-skills”. As Jessica mentioned, “It is very important to never underestimate a person and instead try to understand what their culture and passion is and always have an open mind.” Similar opinions were voiced by Marga who told us, “In this field, it is not only important what you know, but also how you say it and whether you respect protocol and know that there’s an order and hierarchy that must be followed.” Resilience was another skill that our panelists repeatedly recommended. As Jessica described, “There are many many skills needed, some of which we have already gained as a scientist because we think and we learn how to be resilient.” This rang soundly with Alicia’s advice - “It is very useful to be able to leave your comfort zone and feel comfortable being uncomfortable”, Alicia also mentioned that her ability to connect things that people don't see the connection between - a scientific paper, an international policy, a local NGO, and to find ways to bring these seemingly different things together has paid off really well in this profession. What if I’m not ready to transition to a career in science diplomacy? We understand that many of our readers care deeply about science diplomacy, and want to look for ways to contribute without completely switching career paths at this moment. We’d like to highlight a key point made by Lorenzo, “You can keep doing research but with a different mindset that your research needs to have some kind of impact at the policy or diplomacy level. To do that you engage in specific meetings, have different international conferences, or different policy gatherings to provide your scientific expertise so that science has an impact in policy and diplomacy.” Several organizations such as the Royal Society, Sense about Science, Campaign for Science and Engineering, and professional societies or networks (Psst...INet-NYC is looking for volunteers) are ideal platforms to engage with science diplomacy as an active researcher. Needless to say, keep engaging with us and our panelists on Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin, and keep the conversation going! We would like to end with the inspiring advice given by Alicia, “when in doubt, just keep swimming”. It may seem like a daunting task but if you stay focused and take things one step at a time, you are sure to achieve success and find a way to navigate these waters. Useful links and resources: Courses
Fellowships & Workshops
General information
Panelist Bios: Alessandro Allegra is a science policy researcher and professional interested in understanding and shaping the interface between science, politics, and society in Europe. He is currently doctoral candidate in Science, Technology and Society (STS) at University College London (UCL), and recently completed a Fulbright-Schuman fellowship in the STS Program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. His research focuses on expert advice in EU policy making. Coming from a background in philosophy of science, Alessandro has professional experience in UK, EU, and international science policy, having worked at UNESCO, the Royal Society of London, the UK Royal Society of Biology, and the European Commission. He serves as Secretary of the Association of Italian Scientists in the UK (AISUK) and collaborates with the International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA). Alessandro co-founded the students-led Science Policy Exchange Network (SciPEN) in the UK, and the #ScienzaInParlamento science policy campaign in Italy. Twitter @a_allegra Dr Alicia Pérez-Porro (PhD) is a marine biologist connecting the ocean, gender equality and science diplomacy for a sustainable future. She is the President of the Association for Spanish Scientists in USA (www.ecusa.es), President of the Network of Spanish Researchers Abroad (RAICEX), Research Associate at the National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution), and a sustainability consultant at Bakery Group. In 2018, Dr. Pérez-Porro was selected to participate in the largest, all-female expedition to Antarctica with the Homeward Bound Project, and awarded the Spanish Red Cross Gold Medal by the Queen of Spain for her efforts advocating for the key role of gender equality in addressing our climate crisis. She was a 2019 Aspen Ideas Festival Scholar, and a 2018 92Y Women inPower fellow. She is also a #scicomm lover, a former professional dancer, and a mom. (www.aliciaperezporro.com / twitter: @aliciaprzporro). Dr Lorenzo Melchor is a PhD in Molecular Biology by the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (2008), holds a Degree in Biology by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (2003), and is currently a Master Student in Policy Analysis in the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. He works as a EU science advice and diplomacy officer in the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) within the Horizon 2020 European project: “Using Science for/in Diplomacy for addressing global challenges, S4D4C”. He has been science adviser to the Spanish embassy in London during 2015-2018. Lorenzo has had an international academic career in cancer genetics of 13 years in Spain, US and UK, with over 30 academic peer-reviewed publications. He is founding president of the Society of Spanish Researchers in the United Kingdom, member of the scientific advisory council of Fundación Gadea Ciencia, and coordinator of #CienciaenelParlamento, an initiative to bring legislative science advice to the Spanish parliament. Dr Melania Guerra (PhD) grew up dreaming of exploring extreme environments. She graduated as a Mechanical Engineering from the University of Costa Rica, followed by a year-long internship at NASA's Johnson Space Center under the mentorship of astronaut Franklin Chang Díaz. Next, she received a Masters and Doctorate degrees in Oceanography from the University of California San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and worked as an academic researcher at Cornell University and the University of Washington. She specializes in understanding underwater sounds from marine species and the negative impacts they experience from anthropogenic noise, a type of pollution caused by industrial activities. Her extensive oceanography field work has focused on the Arctic Ocean, which is dramatically affected by climate change. Participating in international research expeditions to the Arctic aroused an awareness about science diplomacy, the discipline that translates scientific knowledge for multilateral decision making. In 2018 she was selected to the prestigious Nippon Fellowship of the United Nations Division of Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea, a capacity building training in ocean governance and international law at the UN. With this expertise, she provides scientific advice to diplomatic delegations in international climate and ocean negotiation processes. Furthermore, she is an invited professor at the UN University for Peace, teaching Climate Governance. In early 2019, Melania represented Costa Rica in the Homeward Bound expedition to Antarctica, a global leadership initiative for women in science, thus becoming the second Costa Rican woman to do science in both polar regions. Drawing on the high visibility of her unique polar exploration experiences, she shares carefully curated scientific content and blogs about climate change through her social media accounts “La Tica Polar”, currently reaching over 12,000 people across 50 countries. Dr Jean-Christophe Mauduit (PhD) is a Lecturer in Science Diplomacy at University College London, Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy. He was previously a Research Scholar at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C. and Associate Director at the Science Diplomacy Center at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts University, Boston). Initially earning a Ph.D. in Astrophysics (2007, Paris Observatory), he worked at the CNRS and the California Institute of Technology on ESA and NASA satellite missions. His career later took him to South Africa where he was a Project Officer for the International Astronomical Union, overseeing 40 projects in 30 countries. He is also Senior Advisor for International Engagement for the Journal of Science Policy and Governance and recently obtained a Master of Art in Law and Diplomacy (Fletcher School, 2017). Dr Marga Gual Soler (PhD) is a champion of science diplomacy. She is currently an advisor to the EU Science Diplomacy Cluster, a scholar with The World Academy of Sciences, and runs her own international consultancy SciDipGLOBAL. Originally trained in molecular biology, she has dedicated her career to developing and promoting science diplomacy as a new field of research, policy, and practice, working with governments, academia, NGOs and multilateral organizations to strengthen the linkages between science and international affairs for peace and sustainable development. At the AAAS Center for Science Diplomacy, she helped build the intellectual frameworks for science diplomacy education and facilitated scientific cooperation between countries facing diplomatic tensions, notably helping rebuild research ties between the United States and Cuba after the diplomatic normalization of 2015. As a high-level government adviser, Marga has helped design the science diplomacy strategies of many Latin American countries, Spain, and the EU, and in 2016 was appointed to the Research, Innovation, and Science Experts Group (RISE) advising former European Commissioner Carlos Moedas on EU science diplomacy. She has received many honors and awards, including “100 Spanish experts in innovation”, "40 Under 40 Latinos in Foreign Policy" by The Huffington Post, Aspen Ideas Festival Scholar, and Georgetown University Global Competitiveness Leadership Fellow. In 2019 participated in Homeward Bound, the largest all-women expedition to Antarctica to promote women's leadership in climate action. In 2020 she was named a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. Dr Jessica Tome Garcia (PhD) works at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) as Analyst of the Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA), where she works closely with the project’s Co-Chairs, and SPA scientific members, on ensuring the publication of a rigorous scientific assessment of the state of the Amazon’s diverse ecosystems, trends, and implications for the long-term well-being of the region. Jessica has years of experience as a senior medical researcher working at universities and research centers such as Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. More recently, with the Uganda Village Project, she led the implementation of public health and education programs to improve the health of rural communities in Eastern Uganda. She also worked at UNESCO as Science Diplomacy Intern, and volunteered for many years with IIE-Scholar Rescue Fund, where she helped to preserve the scientific heritage of countries under stress. She is also a co-founder of GoTogether Initiative, a platform aimed to connect scientists with institutions with the ultimate goal of advancing scientists’ careers. Watch the entire event:
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