LinkedIn competition #ScienceStories

LinkedIn competition for Early Career Researchers: #ScienceStories

The Doctoral Schools of the five Flemish universities are launching a new edition of the competition “Your publication in a LinkedIn post: #ScienceStories”. The aim is simple: explain your research to a broad audience in an engaging and accessible way.

What is #ScienceStories?

#ScienceStories is a joint initiative by the Doctoral Schools of the five Flemish universities, designed to empower PhD candidates and postdocs with essential science communication skills. If you’ve recently published a manuscript (or a similar achievement, e.g. a creation in the arts or design resulting from one’s own research) this is your chance to bring your research beyond the academic bubble.

We’re inviting PhD candidates and postdocs to take on a unique challenge: share your research on LinkedIn in a way that’s clear, compelling, and accessible to a broad audience. The goal? To translate complex scientific findings into engaging stories that resonate with society at large.

In a world increasingly shaped by misinformation and fake news on social media, the ability of researchers to communicate with clarity and credibility is more important than ever. By participating in #ScienceStories, you’re not just showcasing your work—you’re helping to build public trust in science.

Feeling unsure about how to get started on LinkedIn? Don’t worry! On Monday 5 October 2026, 10-12h, science communicator Robin Bonné (robintalksscience.com) will host an online workshop to guide you through the process of composing an effective LinkedIn post (deadline for registration: 28 September). You will learn how to find the essence in your research, which visuals will make people look at your post, and how to make your LinkedIn profile stand out. Let your research speak to the world—one post at a time. To register for the workshop, click here.

Awards

The winners will be selected by a jury made up of representatives from each of the Flemish universities and Robin Bonné. Posts from PhD candidates and postdocs will be evaluated separately. The winners will each receive a voucher for €250.

Organisation

The contest will run from 5^th of October till 5^th of November 2026.

The LinkedIn post must contain the hashtag #ScienceStories. Once participants have published their post, they must register and provide the link to their LinkedIn post in order to enter the competition:

Registration form

Posts published or registered outside of this period or posts that have not been registered using the registration form will not be considered.

Rules

Participants must comply with the following rules:

1. Perform a PhD or postdoc at a Flemish university and have a personal LinkedIn account.
2. Only submit one LinkedIn post, either in Dutch or English. You need to be the main (first or co-first) author on the publication (or similar achievement) and it should have been published this calendar year.
3. Participants can make use of any and all of LinkedIn’s functionalities to present their research and its findings in a compelling way to an audience of educated laypersons, including but not limited to the use of emoticons, videos, images, and animated gifs.
4. The jury’s decision is final and cannot be appealed.
5. The LinkedIn post should be published between 5^th of October till 5^th of November 2026.
6. Once the LinkedIn post is published using the relevant hashtag (#ScienceStories), PhD candidates and postdocs must register using the registration form and provide the link to the LinkedIn post in order to enter the competition.
7. Participants should make sure that the LinkedIn post does not jeopardize intellectual property and valorisation of the research. In case of doubt, seek advice from your supervisor.

Jury and evaluation criteria

Once the LinkedIn posts of the participants have been received through the website provided, each university will receive a summary of all submissions from their institution.

Each participating university will then select three LinkedIn posts (in accordance with the evaluation criteria set out below) which will be submitted to a jury made up of representatives from each university and Robin Bonné for final judging. This shortlist will be announced in December. The winners will be announced in January.

The following evaluation criteria will be applied to submissions across all disciplines:

1. Clarity: Is your main message understandable to the audience you want to reach? Use informative language without scientific jargon to a non-specialized audience of educated laypersons. The LinkedIn post should present the research in a popularising way without trivialising or oversimplifying it. A link to the published manuscript (or similar achievement) is required.
2. Creativity: Is your message attractive and out of the box? Try to go beyond ChatGPT and think how your message could catch the eye in a way that is in line with your main message: the right image, graph, link, video, gif and emojis. Research should be presented in such a way that it makes the public want to engage and learn more. Ask yourself: does this make my target audience want to stop scrolling?
3. Impact: Did you reach the people you wanted to? A post can really engage people or let them scroll onwards. Try to grab your audience from the start and invite them for interaction and feedback in the end (request, a question, sign up …). Only if your post has visibility and gets people to think, will it live further than LinkedIn.

Disclaimer

Failure to comply with the rules and instructions set out in this call, as well as the improper use or presentation of data will be considered cause for disqualification.

Frequently asked questions

How should I go about making an effective LinkedIn post?

We recommend that you plan the structure of your LinkedIn post carefully. Given the character restrictions (3,000 characters), you should plan the content to maximise its impact, including which features may help you highlight the point you are trying to make and/or make it stand out. Think about how the post might be viewed by someone on their phone: What’s the point you are trying to make with your image/photo and does this work on a small screen? The online workshop can help you with these questions.

Will any distinctions be made between LinkedIn posts from different disciplines?

No. The aim of the contest is to promote science communication and as such the particular discipline to which your LinkedIn post pertains is less important than your ability to present specialised knowledge in a simple, engaging and accessible way to a broader audience of educated laypersons.

Can I participate if I defended my thesis before the start of the contest?

Yes, as long as you defended no more than six months prior to the start of the contest.

Should I add a link to my publication (or similar achievement)?

Yes. Although the actual publication (or similar achievement) is most likely too technical for most lay persons, it is important to provide this link for experts in the field.