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The Josh Award is the UK’s national award in science communication, established to recognise and support up-and-coming talent in science communication. The award provides the opportunity to become the science communicator in residence at the Manchester Science Festival, developing and delivering a new project or event while showcasing best practice in the field of science communication.

The winner receives support to nurture their development in the field and their involvement in the Manchester Science Festival from the Festival team, the University of Salford’s Science Communication cluster, and the BIG STEM Communicators Network.

Please download our application form and guidance notes here. The deadline for submitting your application is Friday 20 April 2018, 5pm.

Registration is now open for the best conference in the STEM Communicator's calendar - and we are thrilled to let you know that in our efforts to keep costs low as possible, attending the 3-day event is cheaper than ever before!

Our early bird rate is open until 19th April and a full conference place will set you back just £170 (for a speaker) or £240 (for a non-speaker) which includes annual BIG membership and a really nice dinner! You can find out more or book your place here.

A new recognition for an Informal Science Learning professional

Professor John Beetlestone was one of the pioneers of ‘informal learning in science’ (ISL) of the 20th century. Are you, or someone you know, following in his footsteps?

This brand new Award is to recognize a senior person in the sector – someone still in post in the UK, not a retiree – who has already made or is clearly creating a significant legacy for the field.

To find out more click here

There are only three working days remaining to submit your session ideas for the BIG Event, 18-20 July 2018, Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium

Time's running out! The deadline for proposals is

Tuesday 27 February

Propose your session at www.bigevent.info

Now is your chance to fling your session ideas into the ring for the BIG Event 2018 at Winchester Science Centre & Planetarium - 18-20 July, 2018

Once we have a ring-full we flirt the programme together, put people together who might like to work together, and ask a few people to do something a bit different. Your session ideas can be put forward now until 23 February on the BIG Event session proposals site www.bigevent.info

Bring a show, a workshop, something needing tweaking, something you think is fab; bring your skills in evaluating, managing, developing, presenting, fettling; bring your planetarium, your STEM tap-routine, your busks, your IPad session. But whatever you do, make it hands-on, make it collaborative, make it a truly sharing contribution. BIG members really don’t like to be spouted at – we like to have a go at a thing so bring the thing, not a picture of the thing or a talk about the thing.

Things that will be especially great at Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium: 

They have an awesome planetarium! If you do things with planetariums and want to use this space as it was intended to be used, get in touch and we'll see if we can make it happen. 
There is outside space! We'll have access to a grassy picnic area, so if you wanted to do messy things not suitable to indoors, Winchester has a place for you. 

And finally, Winchester has a workshop which we *might* be able to use. If you have a session idea that can only take place in a workshop, just make a note of it on the proposal site and we'll see what we can do. 

As ever this time of year, we are very much looking forward to seeing your session ideas gush on to the proposal site www.bigevent.info

Come and check-out the newly revamped, mobile-friendly BIG website. Find out what we do, what events are coming up and read our info pages to help you start your career in Science Communication.

If you are lucky enough to be a member, you also have access to lots of extra information including:

• An introduction to Impact and the REF
• DBS and Working with Children
• How to write Risk Assessments and Protect Yourself
• Discover fun facts and useless information in our BIG Archive.
• Plus lots more…

As always BIG is an organisation run for its members, by its members so if you have any skills or knowledge you’d love to share with the BIG community or feel that anything is missing please do you let us know - or even better write something for the website or organise a Skills Day. Just get in touch to find out how!

There are 10 bursaries up  for grabs to attend The Little Event 2018 on Wednesday 17th January at  Thinktank in Birmingham. 

 Each bursary is worth £100 and covers  annual BIG membership, registration fees and £25 towards travel expenses.  Applying for one of the 10 free places is simple. Email event@big.uk.com by 6pm on Thursday 14^th December with the subject line "Bursary Application Little Event" telling us in no more than 200 words, why you would like the opportunity to come to the Little Event and how you think it will benefit your personal and professional development. Successful applicants will be notified by email by 20th December.  

Little Event 2018: a 1-day conference for early-career STEM communicators

Thanks to support from Thinktank Birmingham science museum, the Little Event will take place again in 2018!

Wednesday 17th January 2018, 9.30am - 4.30pm

Thinktank, Birmingham

This one-day conference is for early-career STEM communicators who are keen to suck the knowledge and experience out of those who have been at it for ages. It is also an excellent opportunity to make professional and friendly relationships with others in similar work, or to update job-hunting skills for those hoping to take a next step in their careers.

The full programme is being finalised and will be announced in early December.

The price is £45 for BIG members. Non-members can join first for the annual fee of £30.

Register (or find out more) by clicking BOOK HERE