"Out of the comfort zone"

In a seminar held by biologist Sascha Laubinger last winter semester, students dealt with questions of science communication and experienced what it means to talk to politicians.

Whether it's climate change, genetic engineering or the current coronavirus pandemic, scientific findings play a major role in our everyday lives. But which sources actually provide reliable facts? And how can experts enter into a dialogue with the public or politicians about complex science - especially when it comes to controversial topics such as green genetic engineering?

He has been asking himself this question for a long time, says Prof Dr Sascha Laubinger, Professor of Evolutionary Genetics of Plants at the University's Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences. In his opinion, it would be good for many socio-political debates if scientific findings played a greater role. The positions in his area of expertise, green genetic engineering, have been too rigid for years. According to the researcher's experience, scientific facts often play a subordinate role when it comes to the question of what risks or benefits, for example, new genetic engineering methods such as so-called gene scissors entail for plant breeding. "Even many of my students don't realise this," says Laubinger.

Communicating controversial topics

This is another reason why the biologist has decided to reflect on the role of science in our society and science communication with young scientists during their studies using selected topics. Last year, he initiated a seminar that he now offers regularly in the winter semester. The aim of the event is not only for students to research controversial topics and communicate them in an understandable way, but also to give them an opportunity to engage in dialogue with politicians about scientific findings.

The first seminar last winter semester focused on the topic of agriculture and climate change. The 35 participating students first worked on the scientific basis for the question of how climate change will affect our agriculture in the long term. The programme covered very different aspects of the topic, including aspects from outside the field, such as climate modelling, organic or conventional agriculture, breeding new plant varieties, plant protection and food security.

Keeping an open mind

One challenge was to identify and use reputable sources, explains student Christian Streit, such as reports from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). "We didn't want to rely on statements from Institutes that conduct interest-driven research," he reports. "It was important to me that the students work out their topic in a scientifically sound way and that we discuss it on this basis," adds Laubinger. The seminar participants realised that it is not only difficult to distinguish between reputable and dubious sources, but also to remain unbiased: "If you only look at selected aspects in a study, you get certain results; if you focus on something else, you get others," says student Gesa Gerding.

By the end of the semester, the students had built up a solid foundation of facts - and at the same time developed a catalogue of questions for discussions with politicians. "During the seminar, we realised that there is a gap between what we know scientifically and what politicians implement or plan to implement," says Svenja Augustin, who also took part in the seminar.

The students were given the opportunity to address their questions at the end of the seminar in January at the Green Week in Berlin - a highlight, according to the participants. There they were able to talk to members of the Bundestag from the CDU and the Left Party, both members of the Bundestag Committee on Food and Agriculture. The topic was the future of agriculture in the area of conflict between food security and global climate change. "There were also questions about genetic engineering and the use of pesticides and fertilisers," explains student Augustin.

Dialogue between science and politics

The students report that the discussions took place on an equal footing. Nevertheless, the politicians were initially primarily interested in presenting their own position, says Christian Streit. This was an exciting experience for him and his fellow campaigners, as they were not only forced to communicate clearly, but also to deal with opinions that are rarely heard in their student environment. "We had to get out of our comfort zone," says the student.

According to the students, the seminar offered a good opportunity to combine science and politics in this way. Laubinger and the students agree that scientific expertise should play a major role, especially in times of pressing problems, such as mitigating the consequences of climate change for agriculture. The university lecturer hopes that a constant dialogue between science and politics will continue to raise awareness of the important role of science in social debates - and is looking forward to relaunching the seminar next semester with new students and new aspects.