Not your usual lecture: European science meets TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram at Residencia de Estudiantes
From lab coats to livestreams: science reimagined
Since its launch in 2018, Trivulgando. Research, Society, and Science Communication has grown into one of the Residencia de Estudiantes’ flagship science outreach initiatives. Organised annually by its resident fellows and supported by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), the programme is built around a bold idea: to break the mould of academic lectures and make science speak in everyday languages.
The 2025 edition, held on 24 May, brought together a cross-disciplinary group of researchers, creatives, and communicators for a day of talks, workshops, networking, and hands-on engagement. The organising team comprised all 2024–2025 fellows—from mathematicians and biochemists to historians, artists, and writers—reflecting the event’s spirit of collaboration across fields and formats.
The power of digital storytelling on social media
Centred around three guiding questions—How to tell?, Where to tell?, and What happens next?—the programme explored the methods, platforms, and responsibilities of modern science communication.
Talks ranged from strategic storytelling to digital tools and the long-term impact of public engagement. Highlights included the opening keynote by Álvaro Sahún, one of the founding fellows of Trivulgando, and the closing talk by Andy Enríquez, a science influencer working with Spain’s National Centre for Cardiovascular Research, known for his TikToks, YouTube videos, and Instagram reels.
Workshops included live experiments and peer-to-peer sessions, and the popular open-mic format gave attendees the floor to pitch, perform, or test out their own science communication ideas—with awards for the best contributions.
Bringing science closer to society
With its casual coffee chats, interdisciplinary atmosphere, and active use of social media, Trivulgando continues to attract audiences far beyond academia. It proves that heritage institutions like the Residencia de Estudiantes can be fertile ground for fresh formats, where curiosity meets creativity and researchers learn to speak the language of the present.
