Alumnus Case Studies
Alok Jha, Science Correspondent, The Guardian
Alok took the MSc in Science Communication in1998/1999 after completing a physics degree at Imperial and writing for the student newspaper Felix. On graduating, he worked as a reporter at the science policy magazine Research Fortnight before joining The Guardian newspaper in 2003.
Alok says, "The MSc course took apart my rigid scientific view of the world and helped me realise that, while it's useful to think like a scientist if you want to be one, it's impractical for journalists writing for general audiences. You need to look at science from the outside, understand how non-scientists see it, to best communicate it."
Andrew Cohen, Head of Science, BBC TV
After studying physiology and pharmacology as an undergraduate, Andrew took the MSc in Science Communication in 1994/1995. He then embarked on his career in science communication, working as the series editor on Horizon from 2005 to 2011. Andrew now heads up London Factual's science team and will be spearheading the creation of a new virtual Academy of Science.
Neha Okhandiar, Communications Officer, DEFRA
Neha took the MSc in Science Communication in 2003/2004. As a communication officer Neha’s role at Defra is exciting and wide-ranging. She acts as a journalist within the organisation, identifying science to fund and communicating this to a wider audience, including ministers, employees and the public.
Neha has found the experience she gained during the course invaluable: “I do use a fair amount of science communication theory in order to convince scientists and policymakers that Defra should be doing more in terms of communicating its science.”
Lisa Jamieson, Events Manager, Wellcome Collection
Lisa took the MSc in Science Communication in 2000/2001. Lisa’s first experience of science communication was as a volunteer at the Edinburgh Science Festival while an undergraduate Chemistry student at Aberdeen University. Her first job after the Science Communication MSc was on the antenna science news team at the Science Museum after which she became the Programme Manager at the Dana Centre. In 2005 she moved to the Wellcome Trust to continue her interest in adult live events by establishing the events programme at Wellcome Collection.
