SciCom Team

Stéphane Kenmoe, researcher and science communicator, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany.

Stéphane Kenmoe got his PhD in Physics at the Max-Planck-Institute for Iron Research in Germany in 2015. He is also a science popularizer on TV and on social media, a science writer and novelist. In 2020 he produced the movie ‘’Science in the City’’ (Science dans la Cité) in Cameroon. He is the promoter of the Central African School of Electronic Structure Methods and Applications. He is very active in networking for the promotion of early career African scientists and for connecting science and society. In 2022 he was appointed Editor in Chief of the African Physics Newsletter, a vehicle of communication for African physicist published quarterly by the American Physical Society (APS). He has won many awards for his engagement, among which the 2020 Diversity Prize for Academic Leadership at the University of Duisburg-Essen, the 2021 Falling Walls Award for Science Engagement and the Dubai 2022 Prototypes for Humanity’s award.

Melanie Bartos is a Science Communicator and Media Relations Officer at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. In addition to the ‘traditional’ channels of science communication, she focuses on promoting scientific content across different online platforms and (social) media channels. Audio formats such as the science podcast ‘Time for Science’ – ‘Zeit für Wissenschaft’ and their combination with transmedia storytelling tools cover an essential part of her work. Melanie shares her knowledge in workshops and trainings for scientists in and outside the university. She established one of the first science podcasts by a university in the German-speaking world already in 2014 and is actively engaged in the Austrian community radio sector.

Sem Barendse is an enthusiastic science communicator, working for the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands. As a presenter and creator for various Dutch scientific televisio.n and podcasts, and academic researcher and lecturer in the domain of science communication and public engagement, his work aims to go beyond simply translating science for a broad audience by placing emphasis on the democratization of science. He does so science by making accessible and inclusive to all and work towards this goal in all of his endeavors

Matěj Dostálek is Head of the Centre for Science Communication, Faculty of Science, and CEO of Fort Science Interactive Science Centre, Palacký University Olomouc.

Since 2007, Matěj has held various positions at the International Festival of Science Documentary Films Academia Film Olomouc, and in 2014 he became its director. At the same time, he became the Head of the Centre for Science Communication with the Faculty of Science of Palacky University and CEO of the interactive science museum Pevnost poznání (Fort Science).

Matěj received his Master degree at the Department of Theatre, Film and Media Studies at Palacky University in Olomouc, where he co-organized the international conference Where is History Today? and Screen Industries in East-Central Europe. He also coordinated visits of distinguished guests at his home university (e.g. Noam Chomsky). Further, he was involved in organizing Czech film festivals, Summer Film School (LFS), Jihlava IDFF and Festival of Film Animation (PAF).

In the years 2010 – 2014, he worked at university projects that focused on linking academia with the audiovisual industry (4Science, FIND), the communication of science (POP UP) and the promotion of tertiary education.

Toby Erik Wikström, Ph.D., Project Manager, the Graduate School & Research Specialist, Centre for Research in the Humanities, University of Iceland

Toby Wikström draws upon his experience as a scholar of early modern French literature to help PhD researchers at the University of Iceland develop outstanding skills in public presentation and writing. A veteran of over 30 academic conference presentations, Wikström teaches workshops on presentation skills at the University of Iceland, and is especially interested in helping PhD students become outstanding orators in the public sphere. He also teaches workshops on social media where he uses his humanist skills in textual and visual analysis to help doctoral candidates effectively get their message across to academic and general audiences.  A specialist of globalization and cross-cultural encounters in early modern literature, Wikström earned his PhD in French & Romance Philology at Columbia University in 2010 and taught French at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana for 8 years before joining the University of Iceland in 2018.