25 participants, from diverse background in the field of science and communication participated in this "role play" workshop of the Campus Gutenberg in CosmoCaixa. Each group (5-6 people) represented a new Communication Department on their first day on a research center. Their mission was to prepare a Communication Plan to increase the visibility of the center, taking into account the indications of the organizers. The eight organizers assumed each one a specific role in the game: the Director, the Manager, the Tech Transfer Officer, the Project Manager, the Webmaster, a Star Researcher, a Non-communicative Researcher, and an Enthusiastic Postdoc. 

Which instructions do the participants have to follow? Who is the one taking decisions in a research center? Is there any budget to do some activities? How should the communication department deal with all the different types of researchers? Are there other ways of communicating apart from the classical newspapers? 

The objective of the workshop was to think about all tasks existing in a Communication Department of a research center or institution: internal communication, news and website, social networks, relationship with the press, organization of events and seminars, outreach activities, etc. and to think on a proper strategy to increase the visibility of a research center in the XXIst century by combining them in the best possible way. 

It is the second year that the UAB Campus Communication Officers get together to participate at Campus Gutenberg with this type of workshops, which have resulted always in a positive experience, both for the participants and the organizers. 

About the Campus Gutenberg

El Campus es un espacio de debate y de intercambio de ideas donde los profesionales de la comunicación científica pueden compartir sus experiencias y propuestas. El objetivo es aprender los unos de los otros y reflexionar juntos sobre los cambios que se están produciendo en el mundo de la comunicación de la ciencia y sobre las mejores maneras de mejorar en nuestra profesión.

El Campus Gutenberg-CosmoCaixa es una iniciativa impulsada por el Máster en Comunicación Científica, Médica y Ambiental (UPF Barcelona School of Management) y la Fundación Bancaria “la Caixa”, en colaboración con el Centro de Estudios de Ciencia, Comunicación y Sociedad de la Universidad Pompeu Fabra (CCS-UPF), la Asociación Catalana de Comunicació Científica (ACCC), la Asociación Española de Comunicación Científica (AECC) y la Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología (FECYT).