Nil Salvat, member of the Ciència Oberta and Neurones Fregides

These days, everyone is talking about science outreach. But what exactly is it? Within the sprawling field of science, a small band of people who have left (or combine) research – or other branches – have set out to transmit scientific knowledge in a way that is accessible to a lay audience. That, in a nutshell, is outreach, possibly one of the most oft-overlooked career opportunities for scientists and one that – it should be added – is often unpaid and the product of passion.

Traditionally, these efforts were supported by the media that were allowed in each era. One could argue, however, that the last few decades witnessed a stagnation in terms of the format: print media dominated the market, whether specialized magazines, newspaper sections or books. But just as language evolves and adapts to our everyday lives, fields such as science outreach also need to reinvent themselves and take advantage of niches, whether, in this case, digital platforms, influencers or innovative communication strategies. Whilst a certain percentage of the population still consumes ‘traditional’ formats, there is no denying that media digitization has forced these content creators to make the leap to the virtual world.

Just as language evolves and adapts to our everyday lives, fields such as science outreach also need to reinvent themselves and take advantage of niches, whether, in this case, digital platforms, influencers or innovative communication strategies

What proof can we find of this new trend online? YouTube recently celebrated its 17th anniversary, and the robust presence of science outreach on that platform is clear. Michael Stevens, one of the most celebrated communicators, has been talking about science on his channel VSauce since 2007, drawing over 17,7M subscribers. If we narrow our focus to a more local environment, a remarkably deep bench of Spanish-speaking communicators have carved out places for themselves online as well, such as SizeMatters (95k subscribers), Antroporama (775k subscribers) or La Hiperactina (900k subscribers). And even closer to home, initiatives such as Neurones Fregides (24k followers on Twitter) are committed to both the defence of Catalan and youth outreach in order to create role models in this field among their target audience.

So does outreach have a future in the world of new platforms? The short answer, I would say, is yes – and quite a bright one at that! But personally I would like to give it a more human touch. As a scientist and educator, I even feel a responsibility to use the content I myself generate as a communicator to nurture scientific vocations in the new generations. First, because they are the consumers of these new platforms; but also, especially, because the world we will leave behind (many decades from now, let’s hope) will be the world that they will live in. And we have ample years of experience to show that, without vocations, there can be no scientists; and without science, things can get pretty rough for everyone.