The essentials of science communication in a course engaging both for students and professionals

On the one hand, science is increasingly entering the governance of modern society. On the other hand, society seems to be lagging behind scientific achievements, increasingly unable even to understand its language. The language gap is based on the well-known intimidating appeal of STEM programs and the unreasonable timidity of scientific degree courses to include communication skills as mandatory. An open course was experimented to provide students with the necessary tools to decode and encode the essential elements of science communication, regardless of disciplinary content. The course, which was designed following the 5W+H "golden rule" of non- academic science communication, has been offered for three consecutive years to nearly one hundred students. The students' perspective is analyzed in terms of their perception of the study effort, the achievement of their own learning expectations and the level of general satisfaction. The main result is that it is possible to involve undergraduates, graduates and professionals in rethinking their approach to communication of scientific content to the general public, with rewarding results for all players, once the focus is on the greatest common divisor instead of the lowest common multiple.