Interview with Ulrike Hahn from ResearchIN’ Comics

How did the research comics idea start? 

As a PhD candidate I love the comic series ‘PhD Comics’ which shows the challenges and opportunities, the ups and downs, of PhD life in very funny, entertaining and direct ways. At the same time I was looking to do something creative and hands-on myself and thought: What if I myself make comics about my experience of PhD life? And then it got me thinking: What if it is not only about PhD life but also about PhD research – the process and findings. Imagine you could tell your research in a few images, in a visually powerful, engaging, and understandable way for your kid, your grandpa or your colleague. Discussing academic knowledge not only within but also outside academic circles is rewarding – and also important as part of our university’s mission to create positive social impact. I also see making and engaging with research comics as a creative and simply a fun activity. 

You’ve been involved in art before. Do you see a commonality across your creative works? 

In the past, I have worked with Italian artist Daniel Schinasi, documenting his artistic achievements through photography and video essays. And I like to do abstract paintings. Even though comics are quite different to that, I do see certain commonalities: it is about telling a story, using visual and at times also written language, and about following my passion of being creative (which is heavily influenced by my dad). You can see the style of the comics on the Instagram page @researchincomics. There are some comics on PhD life, and the first comic I made about research findings of two colleagues at ESHCC. 

Is there something you particularly love about creating research comics? 

I particularly love about creating research comics that a few images can tell a story, that they are character-driven and a different way to engage with research (life). I also love that they can be made with digital tools, but also with good old pens – I especially enjoy this haptic experience with pen and paper. What I also find extremely interesting in exploring the world of comics in general is that while visual narratives are very helpful in telling a story, they still require some decoding. We cannot just assume that they will be understood; for example, certain criteria need to be met to allow comprehension.  

What will be your next step? 

In a PhD Club session a few months ago, I presented my research comic journey to my fellow PhD candidates, from the idea to the Synergy Award and the next steps. I received a lot of interesting questions about the research comics project, and it also became clear that there is an interest among fellow PhD candidates not only to have a comics made for them but to create their own research comics. There was great interest in a workshop or course on research comics.  

And of course, our readers will be curious to know: How can we create our own research comic? 

This academic year I am honoured to be part of the instructors of the course „Creating societal impact” for PhD candidates offered by EGSH. One of the four sessions of this course is about research comics. EGSH was open and interested in including a session on this and I am very much looking forward to talking about research comics and to see participants work on their own in creative exercises. Research comics has therefore turned into a participatory project which I really like because together it will be even more fun! 

There are two editions of the course, so that PhD candidates can take part either in the November 2023 or February/March 2024 edition.  

You can find register for the EGSH course here.