Graduate student researchers share their work in Season 3 of Laurier’s Research Chat podcast

Graduate student researchers are asking questions and sharing their stories in a new season of Wilfrid Laurier University’s Research Chat podcast.

Research Chat showcases graduate students’ research and experiences at Laurier. Each episode features two students who share similar areas of interest interviewing each other and is complemented by an article detailing the students’ area of research and topic of discussion.

“The plain language and conversational format of Research Chat provides an excellent venue for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to reach both traditional and non-traditional audiences,” said Brent Wolfe, acting associate vice-president and dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at Laurier.

Graduate student participants are trained and coached through writing a plain language article about their research, how to interview each other and how to speak about their research.

“I really enjoyed learning about plain language writing and effective ways to communicate my research,” said Carolyn Brown, a Season 3 Research Chat podcast participant who will be discussing their research on environmental impact assessments. “The process of explaining my research more clearly, without jargon or sector-specific phrases, was challenging but rewarding.”

Another podcast participant Patrícia Ferreira, department of Biological and Chemical Sciences, sees the podcast as an act of giving back to the science community. “Communicating science is not only a privilege, but our duty, as scientists, to society,” said Ferreira. “Sharing scientific progress is, first and foremost, an act of giving back to the community. This knowledge fuels the curiosity that makes the world go round”.

The tangible skills graduate students develop through participation in Research Chat prepare them to talk and write about their research in ways that will be understood by a wide audience. Last season, podcast participant Natasha Martino from the department of criminology, was interviewed on CBC’s Morning Edition K-W with Craig Norris.

“Research Chat provides graduate students the forum to share their research within their own research and academic networks, the broader Laurier community and beyond,” said Paula Fletcher, associate dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. “Analytics revealed Research Chat Season 2 was listened to globally. We are looking forward to the broad range of graduate research topics that will be shared in Season 3.”

Season 3 will feature 10 new episodes from graduate students in departments including Kinesiology and Physical Education, Political Science, Geography and Environmental Studies, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Global Governance, and Mathematics.

“I think all graduate students should participate in Research Chat,” said Hiromichi Kato, who will discuss their research about a better way for firms to model credit risks. “This podcast allows you to share your unique ideas and methodologies to help other researchers create new knowledge and envision the world.”

New episodes of Research Chat will be posted on Monday, April 3, 2023 and available on podcasting platforms including Apple Podcasts. For more information, visit the Research Chat webpage.