Newsletter of the SCoP group 

05.02.2025

Past events and current projects

• SCoP Onboarding Meeting took place on February 4th, 2025: We welcome our new group members! 

• Science Speed Dating events aim to foster communication between researchers in the different working groups of the Department of Psychology. The last speed dating took place on October 16th, 2024 with new students from the Neurocognitive Psychology master. The students could get an insight into our research. Many of our students and colleagues participated and we had a great time outside of A7! Thank you!

• The Layperson Summary project attempts to bridge the gap between the scientific community and the public. Communicating scientific results to the general public is a vital part of any scientific endeavour. However, language barriers often make scientific literature inaccessible for laypersons. Hence, this project follows a two-step process: 1. Establish guidelines on how to write concise and plain summaries; 2. We also encourage fellow researchers from our Department to sign a commitment statement to write these summaries on an ongoing basis. You can find a website link where we provide updated layperson summaries for projects and ongoing studies conducted at the university. Any scientists who are interested in learning how to write a layperson summary can find this link here. 

• The aim of the Reach out to Schools project is to teach pupils to judge the scientific validity of information in their everyday lives. We have developed a concept for 9th graders, in which we debunk some myths about ADHD from Tiktok. We did a test run and received positive feedback. After a second test run, we will reach out to schools!

• Pop-up Store in the city centre of Oldenburg "Uni in der Stadt": On May 4th 2024, teams from the university presented their projects e.g. concerning tinnitus, loneliness, depression treatment, post-Covid, hearing research and science communication. Visitors were able to try out research setups and were informed about the projects at information booths. Presentations concerning tinnitus, clinical brain stimulation and basic neurobiological research completed the programme.

Upcoming events - Save the date!

All upcoming events can be found here.

• We will host the first Science Speed Dating Event of 2025 on Tuesday 11th of February 2025, at 14.00 in A7 (room will be announced shortly before the event, either 36 or foyer A7). If you wish to participate, please send an email to [email protected]. 

• Brain Awareness Week (BAW): Every March the BAW takes place. This is an international initiative to educate the public about the brain, neurological diseases and the importance of brain health to raise awareness of the importance of brain research. SCoP is participating for the second time. We are very happy, as we got funding from the FENS (Federation of European Neuroscience Societies) for our Oldenburg BAW project! All BAW events will be held in German. Admission is free.

  • March 11th, 19:30 - 21:30 - Brewing Minds at Buddel Jungs Bar: An unconventional pub evening awaits you. Let scientists explain their research in an engaging atmosphere, enjoy a drink and take part in stimulating discussions!

  • March 12th, 16:00 - 19:00 - The researched brain, Open doors at NeSSy: Experience an exciting guided tour through our MRI facilities, learn how an MRI works, and discover the diversity of current research projects at a poster forum. You can expect interactive demonstrations and insights into the everyday life of scientists. There will be entertaining games for young and old. If you wish to help with the organization please contact [email protected]. We are looking forward to hearing from you!

  • March 13th, 18:30 - 21:30 - The hearing brain, movie evening concerning hearing loss in old age at the Schlaues Haus: We are showing Hear Me Out, a comedy that shows how unnoticed hearing loss can affect relationships and participation in life. Afterwards, we invite you to a discussion with researchers from the University of Oldenburg about dealing with hearing loss in old age.

  • Digital campaign - The curious brain: Experience the fascination of brain research online! During BAW, we are bringing exciting insights directly to our website and Instagram @ncp_department_uol

• Future Day for students, April 3rd, 2025: The Future Day is an annual, national one-day internship or workshop for pupils. They have the opportunity to envision what a possible research career may look like.

Announcements

• You might want to listen to the Audio-Podcast Hirn gehört: Oldenburger Wissensschnack with Prof. Dr. Mandy Roheger, which will be online from 20th February 2025. 

Some pictures from our past events:

(Left) Last Science Speed Dating with new students. (Right) Pop-up Store in the city centre of Oldenburg.

This newsletter has been sent to you by the Science Communication group of the Psychology Department of Oldenburg - SCoP (https://uole.de/psychologie/scop). If you would like to get involved or you have questions/suggestions, don’t hesitate to contact us via email at [email protected]. If you want to be kept up-to-date with our latest projects and events, check out our website (https://uole.de/psychologie/scop) and add your name to the SCoP mailing list (https://mailman.uni-oldenburg.de/mailman/listinfo/scop).

Newsletter of the SCoP group 

09.09.2024

Past events and current projects

• The Future Day is an annual, national one-day event dedicated to pupils and organized centrally by the Equal Opportunities Office. Our department has participated in this year’s Future day on April 25^th with the topic "Brain Researchers Wanted". 12 pupils have spent an exciting day in our department. After visiting the MRI scanner and attending a short lecture from Dr. Jale Özyurt, they took part in different experiments. They learned how hearing tests are conducted, how to program a game from scratch, how visual illusions are created and what classical conditioning means. 

• The Science Speed Dating events aim at fostering communication between researchers in the different working groups of the Department of Psychology. The last speed dating took place during a sunny lunch break on June 20^th with the topic “high and low lights in scientific discourse”. We shared our personal experiences with reviews and feedbacks received from other researchers. 

• The Layperson Summary project attempts to bridge the gap between the scientific community and the public. Communicating scientific results to the general public is a vital part of any scientific endeavour. However, language barriers often make scientific literature inaccessible for laypeople. Hence, this project will follow a two-step process: 1. establish guidelines on how to write concise and plain summaries; 2. encourage fellow researchers from our Department to sign a commitment statement to write these summaries on an ongoing basis for each new paper published. 

• The aim of the Reach out to Schools project is to teach students to judge the scientific validity of information in their everyday lives. We are currently developing a concept for 9th graders, in which we will debunk some myths about ADHD from Tiktok. If you are curious and would like to help us test our materials you are welcome to sign up for our piloting session (see below - upcoming events). 

Upcoming events - Save the date!

Events from our Department:

• 24 or 25 September 2024, 1pm - 2pm: Piloting session for the Reach out to Schools project (see past and current projects). There will be cookies!! 

If you know German and are interested in joining, please send an e-mail to [email protected] and indicate your availability for the two dates. We will pick the date for which most people sign up.

• 16 October 2024, 2pm in A7: Science speed dating. We will invite new students from the Neurocognitive Psychology master. They will have the possibility to get an insight into your research and you will get to know them better (which might be helpful for you in the near future for student assistant positions and projects!). You can sign up via this link:  https://terminplaner6.dfn.de/p/99490f1b364098ccb0e9d38ec5dedc99-856620 

Events outside of our University:

• 16. – 20. September 2024: Post Doc Appreciation Week. Check out the many in-person and online events on their webpage: https://paw-germany.de/events-2024/. You might be interested in joining the online event on September 17^th at 1pm where they will introduce the new German Postdoc Network (GPN), a comprehensive network designed for postdocs across all fields and research institutions in Germany (you can register at: https://mpi-biochemistry.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dVwdmNxqRsOj_1SLO5pBjQ#/registration). 

•  10 November 2024: World Science Day (Berlin Science Week https://berlinscienceweek.com/). This year’s Berlin Science Week theme, “Common Ground”, is a call to action. The goal is to foster reflective conversations, deepen appreciation for diverging perspectives, and establish common ground for constructive discourse. Let’s come together to celebrate the pivotal role of science in shaping a collaborative and informed society!

All our upcoming events can be found here https://uole.de/psychologie/scop/events

Announcements

• You might want to listen to Prof. Dr. Christiane Thiel presenting the Hearing4All excellence cluster on the podcast “Exzellent Erklärt”:  https://exzellent-erklaert.podigee.io/14-neue-episode  

• Unfortunately, our application for the DGPs Science Communication Award was not successful. We think it's important to share not only the success stories, but also the setbacks!

Some pictures from our past events:

(Left) Some snapshots of two experiments at the Future Day 2024.(Right) Speed Dating lunch on June 20th 2024.

We thank our colleagues who guided the pupils in discovering our department: Lara Papin, Stephanie Rosemann, Franziska Kiene, Silvia Korte, Nadine Jacobsen, Luisa Schmidt, Jennifer Eidswick, Rachana Mahadevan.

This newsletter has been sent to you by the Science Communication group of the Psychology Department of Oldenburg - SCoP (https://uole.de/psychologie/scop). If you would like to get involved or you have questions/suggestions, don’t hesitate to contact us via email at [email protected]. If you want to be kept up-to-date with our latest projects and events, check out our website (https://uole.de/psychologie/scop) and add your name to the SCoP mailing list (https://mailman.uni-oldenburg.de/mailman/listinfo/scop).

Newsletter of the SCoP group

18.04.2024

Past and current projects

• Brain Awareness Week is an annual, international effort to promote public awareness and interest in brain research. We take pride in our participation in this year's Brain Awareness Week (11-17 March 2024) where we have organized two successful events in Oldenburg dedicated to raise awareness for the importance of brain research. On March 12th we organised a film evening at the Schlaues Haus, where we watched the movie "Still Alice" followed by a panel discussion on dementia with researchers from the Department of Psychology and the University Medicine Oldenburg. On March 13th, we hosted a pub event “Brewing Minds: brains and drinks” at the Buddel Jungs Bar where scientists from our department presented their research in a convivial atmosphere while enjoying a drink.
• The Future day is an annual, national one-day event dedicated to pupils and organized centrally by the Equal Opportunities Office. Our department has participated in Future day since 2018 with the topic "Brain Researchers Wanted". Since last year the SCoP group took over the organisation of department-related workshops, including a visit to our MRI scanner and several lab demonstrations and activities.
• The science speed dating events aim at fostering communication between researchers in the different working groups of the Department of Psychology through short socializing events. So far we organised 4 events during lunchtime and we are planning a pizza speed dating in May! Stay tuned!
• We are organizing the poster display in the A7 hallway with the aim to share knowledge about recent and ongoing research projects of each lab. With a turnover of 2-3 months we display posters from conferences and student’s practical projects.

Upcoming events - Save the date!

• 25 April 2024: Future day
  12 boys and girls will spend a day in our department. First they will visit the MRI and listen to a presentation from Dr. Jale Özyurt. Then they will come to A7 for taking part in very cool projects exploring hearing tests, programming, visual illusions and more!

All our upcoming events can be found here https://uole.de/psychologie/scop/events

Announcements

• We have applied for the DGPs funding price for Science Communication (Förderpreise für Wissenschaftskommunikation 2024). Wish us good luck!

Resources

• We are in close contact with Jens-Steffen Scherer from the research transfer office of the university for joint collaborations. You can learn more about his work and find interesting resources here: https://uole.de/transfer/wissenstransfer
  
• At this link you can find many valuable resources for Science Communication:
  https://www.wissenschaftskommunikation.de/
  
• At this other link you can read a paper (only in German) that was published on the Psychologische Rundschau on “Communication from Scientifically Active Psychologists in the German-Speaking Countries: An Empirical Evaluation of the Current Situation” https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/10.1026/0033-3042/a000606

Some pictures from our past events:

Film evening with panel discussion at the Schlaues Haus and Brewing Minds event at Buddel Jungs. We thank the PFL, the Schlaues Haus, the Research Training Group Neuromodulation, the Department for Research and Technology Transfer and the Buddel Jungs for their support. Below: Previous science speed dating events at our Department.

This newsletter has been sent to you by the Science Communication group of the Psychology Department of Oldenburg - SCoP (https://uole.de/psychologie/scop). If you would like to get involved or you have questions/suggestions, don’t hesitate to contact us via email at [email protected]. If you want to be kept up-to-date with our latest projects and events, check out our website (https://uole.de/psychologie/scop) and add your name to the SCoP mailing list (https://mailman.uni-oldenburg.de/mailman/listinfo/scop).