Animating your research: producing impactful social media content

This ONLINE session is available to PGRs, research staff and research-related professional services staff from the University of Liverpool and Sumy State University. When registering for this event please ensure you use your University email address as non-University email registrations will be removed due to capacity restrictions, thank you.

Joining details will be sent 2 days and 2 hours before the session begins to the email address you registered with.

Please note - if you are unable to attend, you can register to be sent the resources from the session only by choosing a non-attending ticket.

This workshop will teach you how to produce a 2-minute 2D whiteboard animation describing your research which can then be shared on social media platforms.

Topics covered include:

• The importance of good visual storytelling
• Script Writing
• Voiceover production
• Storyboarding
• Animation production

Session outline/ plan

By the end of this session, participants will:

• Have written and recorded a script describing their research.
• Have sketched out a storyboard.
• Know how to proceed to complete production of their animation.

Presenter information:

Dr. Mhairi Towler (she/her)

Dr. Mhairi Towler integrates a background in science with animation skills to use visuals to communicate science to a wide audience.

Mhairi earned a Biochemistry degree and a PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Dundee. She carried out postdoctoral work, both in San Francisco and Dundee. She was a founder member and Co-chair of the College of Life Sciences Postdoctoral Association. During her time as a postdoc, she also completed a postgraduate certificate in teaching and learning in higher education and recognised the importance of the visual as a cognitive tool. She completed a Masters in Animation and Visualisation at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design at the University of Dundee in 2012 to become a scientific visualisation practitioner.

Mhairi is the Founder and Director of the multi-award-winning animation production company, Vivomotion (www.vivomotion.co.uk). The company offers a service of bespoke animations for scientific communication as well as training workshops for postgraduate researchers and academic staff on the visual communication of research. She hosts the podcast ‘Opportunities in Science’, which highlights career options after completing a science degree.

She was a member of The Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Young Academy Scotland from 2012 – 2019 and is a member of the Association of Scottish Businesswomen, Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce, and The Dyer’s Trade in Dundee. Mhairi enjoys singing with the Angus Choral Society.

The Researcher Development Framework (RDF) attributes developed during this session are relevant to the following sub-domains:

Domain A: Knowledge and Intellectual Abilities

A1: Knowledge base

A2: Cognitive Abilities

A3: Creativity

Domain B: Personal Effectiveness

B3: Professional and Career Development

Domain D: Engagement, Influence and Impact

D2: Communication and Dissemination

D3: Engagement and Impact

Accessibility Adjustments and Alternative Format requests: If you require any accessibility adjustments or have any questions about this session, please contact the Academy's RD team Researcher@liverpool.ac.uk at least 7 days before the session date so that your requirements can be referred to the facilitator(s) who will make every effort to address them where possible.

Academy Researcher Development Inclusivity Statement: The Academy is committed to providing an environment which recognises and values people's differences, capitalises on the strengths that those differences bring to the institution and supports all staff and students in maximising their potential to succeed. In line with the Academy's firm commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, we offer all postdoctoral and research-related opportunities to develop and network irrespective of a researcher’s gender, ethnicity, age, self-identification, disability, religious affiliation, or any other criteria used to separate and define.

Academy Code of Conduct: All events organised or facilitated by The Academy follow a Conduct of Conduct irrespective of the number of participants or session format. The Academy thanks all participants in advance for your cooperation to help ensure a safe and constructive environment for everybody. The Code of Conduct is available at: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/researcher/development/conduct-events/

Important: We take your privacy very seriously and will only use your email address to send you information about this session. Thereafter, we will contact you only where you have given us permission to do so. After that, you can opt-out at any time of receiving our communication by simply sending an email to researcher@liverpool.ac.uk

Stay in Touch: For the latest news and information about research staff development opportunities and resources follow @LivResearcher on Twitter. Further details about the University of Liverpool's Researcher Development activities can be found on the Researcher Hub: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/researcher/