UCLA Science Outreach Symposium 2022

This November, we had an absolutely amazing time participating in the inaugural UCLA Science Outreach Symposium! We enjoyed insightful discussions at two panel sessions 1) Striking the Balance: Academia and Outreach (featuring co-president Bineh Ndefru!) and 2) The Future of Science Outreach at UCLA (featuring member Carolyn Amir!). There were many student groups and faculty that are typically spread all across campus that were able to share their group’s projects and initiatives at the activities fair and happy hour – this was such an exciting opportunity to connect! It was such a treat to be amongst other people passionate about making science accessible to the public and making STEM fields diverse and equitable.

(L to R) Photograph of co-organizers Lauren Wagner and Arielle Hogan.

(L to R) Photograph of SPG co-presidents Bineh and Kayla, with NeuroComm representatives Melis and Anita.

(L to R) Photograph of panelist Lauren Wagner with panel participants Dr. Shulamite Green, Bineh Ndefru, Dr. Vidya Saravanapandian, and Dr. Dean Buonomano.

One of the organizers, Lauren Wagner, reflects on the symposium:

It was a pleasure to help organize UCLA's very first Science Outreach Symposium alongside my co-organizer, Arielle Hogan! This symposium was dreamed up because of the observation that, although UCLA has no shortage of science outreach organizations, there is not really a unified channel or forum for them to meet, share ideas, and form collaborations. This led me and Arielle to design an event that was geared towards exploration and networking, so we focused the symposium's events on short talks, panels, a tabling/networking fair, and a happy hour! We're so grateful for support from UCLA's Brain Research Institute and the Graduate Programs in Bioscience, without which the event wouldn't have been possible.

I will admit that we were organizing this event on a relatively short timeline (only about 6 weeks), but it was completely worth it. We were absolutely thrilled to see so many positive responses during and after the event. Groups and individual attendees would come up to us saying that they met so many new people during the event, that they have already started brainstorming new collaborations, and even asked when the next symposium would be! It was very clear to us that the event met a real need within the UCLA science outreach community. We're hoping to be able to hold another Science Outreach Symposium in spring of 2023!

Thank you for having us UCLA Science Outreach Symposium Committee! We can’t wait for next year’s event!