EARA has taken part in the first workshop, held by Europe’s leading universities, to show students how best to communicate about animal research.

The residential event, From Emotion to Communication, at Heidelberg University, Germany, brought together young researchers from the 23 member universities of the League of European Research Universities (LERU).

The students were given an overview of the issues surrounding animal research by EARA Board members Serban Morosan, of French advocacy group GIRCOR and the Sorbonne Unversity, and Roman Stilling, of TVV, its German equivalent.

EARA communications manager, Bob Tolliday, spoke on the need for open and transparent content about animal research on university websites and highlighted the best (and worst) LERU member websites.

Among the best were EARA members KU Leuven and the University of Zurich, as well as the University of Cambridge.

The students were given a series of exercises aimed at improving communication about their own research, led by Jan-Bas Prins, of Leiden University Medical Centre and the Francis Crick Institute..

Also last week, EARA began its autumn series of media training events for its member institutions. For more information contact mvlastara@eara.eu

End