Stories make Science exciting again

Students learn a lot of undoubtedly interesting stuff. Otherwise they would not have decided for a particular subject. But most professors do not take into account how to share their profound knowledge to students. Their priority is publishing papers, writing research proposals and the even more unloved day-to-day administrative stuff. Teaching seems to be an attachment only.

But 20 years after studying Geography, I still remember the lectures with engaged professors combining scientific content with personal experiences: Storytelling at its best instead of text-heavy slides! In other words: Stories make science exciting again!

There is a controversial discussion on ResearchGate whether we should mix science with storytelling. To some it appears scientists want to get stuck in their ivory tower, while well-known science communicators like Dr. Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim prove science can be shared in an exciting manner, having received several awards such as the "Grimme Online Award" and the "German Web Video Award". During Covid-19, virologist Prof. Christian Drosten has become a popular person because he manages to break down complex scientific contexts to a generally understandable level. The German Research Foundation (DFG) highlighted three characteristics of his performance: descriptive, transparent, fact-based.

Both Nguyen-Kim and Drosten are able to translate science into well-understandable stories. In other words: Stories make science exciting again.