#SpotOn19

Communicating research for societal impact -
Connecting the global North and South

The SpotOn conference provides a fresh opportunity for discussion, collaboration and innovation in science communication. We strive to open up a conversation between researchers, the scholarly communications professionals supporting their work, and critical decision-makers, both face to face in an annual conference, and globally through virtual networks.

This year for their 10th anniversary, SpotOn are turning their attention to sustainability: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, “provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.” The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) identify global grand challenges that affect us all: from health to inequality to climate action.

For the first time in SpotOn history, the conference will take place simultaneously in both London, UK and Cairo, Egypt (details at right). For those who cannot attend in person, the conferences will be livestreamed and you can sign-up to attend virtually.

Register here

Save the date: Thursday 21st November, 2019

London, UK

Location: Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Rd, London NW1 2BE

Time: 8.30 am - 17.00 pm GMT

Cairo, Egypt

Location: Smart Village, Cairo-Alex Road, Cairo, 12577

Time: 9.30 am - 18.00 pm EET

If you are interested in attending this event, a waiting list is available at https://bit.ly/32mYlIZ or alternatively you can e-mail us at roza.sakellaropoulou@springernature.com

Livestream

Time: GMT and EET respectively

Programme Agenda

London (Greenwich Mean Time)

Registration (8.30-8.45)

Introduction (8.45-9.00)

Lucy Frisch, Marketing Manager and Chair of the Springer Nature SDG Programme External Awareness Committee

Research and Policy Engagement (9.00-9.45)

Stephen Scoffham - Visiting Reader in Sustainability and Education, Canterbury Christ Church University

Sarah Hemstock - Program Leader Geography, Bishop Grosseteste University

Chaired by: Mithu Lucraft, Director of Outreach and Open Research, Springer Nature

Communicating Research for Sustainable Development (9.45-10.30)

Mithu Lucraft - Director of Outreach and Open Research, Springer Nature @mithulucraft

Martin Szomszor - Head of Research Analytics, Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) @martinszomszor

Alison Greig - Director of Education for Sustainability (EfS), Anglia Ruskin University

Chaired by: Nicola Jones, Head of Publishing, Springer Nature SDG Programme

Coffee Break (10.30-11)

Keynote (11-11.30)

Elizabeth Marincola - Senior Advisor, The African Academy of Sciences and former CEO PLOS

Open Access Science Publishing - Why is it Essential for the Future of Scientific Research in Africa and Globally

The momentum that has driven market share of science publishing from journals based on subscription business models to open access publishing is vital to the continued health of scientific research globally. This is perhaps even more the case for research in the Global South, where there persist significant barriers to the dissemination of research as well as to its access. These barriers are direct, such as in the imposition of subscription paywalls, and indirect, such as the continued perverse application of the Journal Impact factor that has disproportionate and negative effects on scientific careers. The Keynote will describe the landscape for science publishing worldwide and how open access publishing will accelerate progress toward the SDGs as well as support the careers of researchers in Africa and worldwide.

Opportunities and challenges for OA in addressing the SDGs (11.30-12.30)

Jessica Espey- Senior Adviser at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UNSDSN); Director, SDSN TReNDS @JessicaEspey

Nilam McGrath - Knowledge Management & Research Communications Consultant; Visiting Research Fellow, University of Leeds @TalkingEvidence

Jo Havemann - Co-founder of AfricArXiv @johave

Chaired by: Jessica Monaghan, Head of Policy and Performance, Open Access in Open Research Strategy, Springer Nature

Lunch (12.30 -13.30)

Crossing Global Borders with Research Technology (13.30-14.30)

Joshua Atah - Managing Director, Nigerian Research and Education Network; Coordinator, Africa Centres of Excellence (ACE) Project in Nigeria @joshatah

Maha Bali - Co-Founder and Co-Director Virtually Connecting; Associate Professor of Practice at the Center for Learning and Teaching, American University in Cairo @bali_maha

Nadine Aboulmagd - Senior Instructional Designer at The Center for Learning and Teaching, American University in Cairo

Discussion - How have developments in technology impacted global research collaboration?

Chaired by: Lucy Frisch (London) and Mohammed Yahia (Cairo)

Coffee Break (14.30-15.00)

Humanizing Science (15.00-15.45)

An exploration of how experts can use different science communication tactics to better engage with the public.

Stephen Harris - Science Editor, The Conversation @swjharris

Chiara Ceci - Science Communication and Engagement Manager, AstraZeneca @chiara_ceci

Erin Barker - Artistic Director, The Story Collider @ErinHBarker

Supporting Diversity Initiatives in Global Research Communication (15.45-16.30)

Andrea Powell - Director of Outreach, STM; Publisher Coordinator, Research4Life @AndreaJPowell

Mahmoud Maina - Research Fellow, Sussex Nueroscience, Univeristy of Sussex; Visiting Scholar, Yobe State University, Nigeria @mahmoudbukar

Chika Ezeanya-Esiobu - Researcher and author of the open access book, Indigenous Knowledge and Education in Africa @ChikaforAfrica

Discussion - How is the research community addressing disparities in opportunity and inequalities of partnerships between the Global North and South?

Chaired by: Suze Kundu, Digital Science @FunSizeSuze

Closing Remarks (16.30-16.45)

Cairo (Eastern European Time)

Registration (9.00-9.45)

Introduction (9.45-10.00)

Mohammed Yahia (Springer Nature) and Professor Ahmed El-Gohary (President, E-JUST)

Keynote (10.00-10.45)

Ismail Serageldin - Founder & Director Emeritus, Library of Alexandria

Research Impact on Local Policy (10.45-11.30)

Science has the potential to offer solutions for many of the SDGs and development problems that we face. However, there is often a divide between scientists and policymakers. How can scientists play a more active role in science-led policy making?

Masaki Suzuki - Vice president of International and Regional Affairs at the Egyptian-Japanese University of Science and Technology (E-JUST)

Tyseer Aboulnasr - Former Dean of Applied Science, University of British Columbia, Canada

Chaired by: Ashraf Amin

Coffee Break (11.30-11.45)

Decolonizing Research (11.45-12.45)

How does intellectual leadership take shape in North/South collaborations? What are the disadvantages of these collaborations and how can they be addressed? How can we develop mutually beneficial collaborations that treat local expertise as more than sample collectors and that help support the research landscape in the South?

Ramy Aziz - Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University

Satoshi Goto - Professor Emeritus, Graduate School of Information, Production and Systems, Waseda University, Japan

Menattallah Elserafy- Postdoctoral Fellow, Zewail City of Science and Technology

Chaired by: Nehal Lasheen

Lunch (12.45 -13.30)

Opportunities and challenges for OA in addressing the SDGs (13.30-14.30)

The past few years have seen an outburst in open access publishing, often driven by policy and technology. It has become an opportunity to make research more easily available to scientists and to create a robust research landscape in the Global South. This rapid rise, however, came with a set of challenges that the community must mow address to keep OA a strong driver of innovation for the Global South.

Mahmoud Khalifa - Founder & CEO of Cybrarians, The Arabic Portal for Librarianship and Information

Mahmoud Abdel Aty - Vice President of African Academy of Sciences, Kenya and Professor at Zewail City and Sohag University, Egypt

Chaired by: Ramy Aziz

Case Studies in Science Journalism (14.30-15.15)

Science needs good science journalism, one cannot exist for long without the other. But science journalists are not cheerleaders of scientists - they are watchdogs on behalf of the public. Good science journalists play an important role in supporting high-quality research and driving innovation, while also promoting science and development.

Ashraf Amin - Head of the Science & Technology department at Al-Ahram newspaper

Nehal Lasheen - Deputy Editor of the Arabic edition of SciDev.Net for the MENA region and President of the Arab Science Journalists Association

Dalia Abdelsalam - Dditor-in-Chief of For Science, the Arabic edition of Scientific American

Chaired by: Mohammed Yahia

Coffee Break (15.15-15.30)

Crossing Global Borders with Research Technology (15.30-16.30)