Before starting the Science Communication (MSc) programme, Kate Heatherington had felt distanced from everything she had once loved about science. And while she expected to reverse that by returning to university, she was surprised by how quickly it happened. “The course was very practical -- you were encouraged to go out and actually do things, and to learn how to be a communicator in whichever field interested you. That really spoke to me,” she says.
In one module, she worked with a group to plan an engagement activity and then implemented it. The experience gave her a sense of what it takes to organise an event, gather feedback, and interact with different audiences.
In one module, she worked with a group to plan an engagement activity and then implemented it. The experience gave her a sense of what it takes to organise an event, gather feedback, and interact with different audiences. The MSc has since changed how she thinks about science and society – in all the right ways.
“I think about people and relationships and the way that power is presented very differently now,” she says. “It’s kind of inescapable. I can’t turn that switch back off again.
Kate is currently working at UCL's Centre for Responsible Innovation. “We look at innovative technologies, science and society, and the ways that we can kind of bridge the gap between these new technologies and public values,” she says. “I work as a research associate, assisting with research, organising events, and more.”