LinkedIn for Researchers workshop: Building visibility and community in Cape Town

Sep 7

What’s more important than likes, comments, and reposts? Community.

The inaugural LinkedIn for Researchers workshop, held at Workshop17 in Newlands, Cape Town, was all about making LinkedIn a place to boost visibility, share your work, and connect with others.

We learned to write hooks that stop the scroll and CTAs that spark engagement. After the section on how not to start a post, I don’t think anyone will be “excited to announce” or “beyond thrilled” ever again.

But LinkedIn is a two-way street. Yes, it’s about sharing your work and making a small corner of the internet your own. But it’s also about connection: building a community of collaborators, peers, and friends.

We can all learn from each other. You never know how sharing your journey of overcoming challenges, whether presentation nerves, red-eye inducing grant applications, or failed experiments, might help somebody else. A thoughtful comment can start a conversation that leads to collaboration in the real world. It certainly has for me.

Science communication specialist Brendon Bosworth and participants at Human Element Communication’s first LinkedIn for Researchers Workshop, held at Workshop17, Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town, 3 September 2025.

Thanks to the researchers who joined the session, specialists in climate change, mineral law, neuroscience, and science communication, for bringing their energy, questions, experiences, and openness to the session.

Nothing fills me with more joy than seeing people in my workshops sharing ideas and constructive feedback to support one another.

We wrote posts, updated profiles, drank coffee, laughed, debated the use of emojis (how many is okay for one post?) and puzzled over the peculiarities of the LinkedIn algorithm.

Cheers to Workshop17 and the ever-helpful team who made sure the event ran smoothly. What an incredible venue.