While many people think writing and science skills are at opposite ends of the academic spectrum, directors of a new competition at N.C. State are seeking to break that mentality and bring the two together. 

The Briefing Tech Writing Challenge encourages science and engineering students to explore their writing skills via competition. Dr. Sunny Bains, editorial director of The Briefing, a research and development news publication, said writing is an important aspect of communicating scientific ideas. 

“In many ways, I think scientists and engineers can be very good communicators,” Bains said. “They are able to understand things, break them down and structure an argument.”

Bains has a B.S. in physics, a master’s in journalism and a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence. She said her background gives her a unique perspective on science and technology journalism. 

“Our goal with this competition is to show that journalism can be about evidence, argument and understanding rather than the ‘he said, she said’ they teach you in journalism school.”

Science and engineering students who aren’t well versed in technical writing can quickly pick up the necessary skills, according to Bains. 

“A scientist will do some research, look at the evidence on both sides, and make clear if a fringe view is just that, rather than just quoting a couple of people and leaving the reader to make up their own mind, which I personally think is a cop-out,” Bain said. 

Participating students will submit a short article that fits into the Research, Trends or People sections of The Briefing. Bains said the piece must explore specific research, a research trend or an individual’s research career. 

Bains said the goal is to also encourage people in science fields to consider going into journalism.

“Having more people with technical backgrounds in the media would be a really good thing,” she said. 

The competition will be held worldwide, and thus the nationality or location of each contestant is irrelevant. The only requirement is that writers must be born on or after 1984. 

“First, journalism isn’t just communicating with the public, it’s about letting other scientists and engineers know about new tools and ideas that might be useful to them,” Bains said. “Second, within science and engineering, communication is extremely important anyway … Technical people are more effective and successful when they can communicate well.”