Publicity

The outcomes of your PhD research contribute to the development of science. The University of Groningen (RUG) highly values to adequately inform the media on the results of scientific research. Scientific and societal developments are interrelated and there is an ongoing interest for scientific work. The Higher Education and Scientific Research Act also underlines the transfer of knowledge as an important task of a university.

We appreciate your efforts to help us to communicate the university’s scientific output to the regional and national media in the Netherlands. The Communication Office of the RUG offers professional support and consultation to decide about the preferred communication strategy. For example, the Office can facilitate professional drafting of a press release and sending it off to press representatives. The Communication Office can also help you in preparing interviews with journalists.

For a smooth course of events we would like to ask you to send the questionnaire publicity and short summaries in Dutch and English no later than five weeks before your defence date to the Communication Office by uploading the answers in Hora Finita. The Office staff will use the obtained information to:

1. Determine whether the scientific outcomes are newsworthy and justify a press release for separate posting. If so, the Communication Office will contact you. In consultation, a professional writer will draft the text of the press release.

2. Prepare a short abstract of your research for the university newsletter, a weekly published press release containing all sorts of newsworthy items.

The publicity of the PhDs of the UMCG is handled by the Press Office of the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG). They will receive your questionnaire through the Communication Office of the University of Groningen.

The Communication Offices of the University of Groningen and UMCG can advise you about dealing with the media. Check the following brochures on these matters:

• Publicity as a Researcher
• Preparing for publicity
• Media contacts for scientific staff of the UMCG.