Five years of RealIZM: Challenges of science communication

As the year nears its end, it’s time to take stock and look to the future. To mark the fifth anniversary of our science blog RealIZM, Katja Arnhold, our editor in charge, gives us the low-down on the challenges for science communication and a sneak peek at the development of this blog.

What makes RealIZM unique? How do we succeed in communicating complex research in a way that regular people understand? Find out more about the successes and challenges of our blog team and the visions that make our blog an important online platform for electronic packaging and innovative technologies in microelectronics.

Why the special edition as an online magazine?

To mark the fifth anniversary of our science blog RealIZM, we want to return to our most popular blog posts from recent years in a new format.

We have decided to publish a special edition as an online magazine. These five articles show the variety of topics that our more than 450 researchers in Berlin, Dresden, and Cottbus are working on:

• The diverse applications of electronic textiles
• How state-of-the-art microsensors support bees
• The potential of wire bonding for innovative connections
• The future of electro-optical printed circuit boards in data transmission
• The advantages of silicon carbide for e-mobility

None of these topics have lost their relevance even after three or five years have passed. In addition, three of the five articles in our online magazine are now also published in German for the very first time.

RealIZM 5 years special edition with the 5 most popular articles from 2019 to 2024 | © Fraunhofer IZM

Is a science blog worth the effort in our age of social media?

Our research topics are timeless. In my view, our blog is the ideal platform to present the work of our scientists. And blogging is worth it as a research institution! RealIZM has established itself as an integral part of the communication mix at Fraunhofer IZM. We publish a new article every third Thursday. Our articles also don’t get drowned out in the constant noise of social media. They have a permanent home on our blog. We use Fraunhofer IZM’s social media channels to draw attention to new and previously published articles almost every Thursday. Our blog and our social media activities complement and reinforce each other.

What makes RealIZM unique?

RealIZM is the first Fraunhofer science blog dedicated to microelectronics. Our blog differs from other science blogs in that we do not publish traditional diary entries. Instead, we tell our readers about technologically and strategically important topics relating to our R&D work at Fraunhofer IZM. For example, we explain why hetero-integration could be paving the way for the next generation of semiconductors, what threats and protective mechanisms there are for the trustworthiness of electronic hardware, and what is important for the reliability and environmental sustainability of electronic systems.

By contrast to press releases, we are not limited to brief pieces of new information. The RealIZM blog team has the freedom to research topics in greater depth and conduct in-depth interviews with experts. I consider it a privilege to share ideas with the researchers at Fraunhofer IZM about innovations and technological trends in microelectronics.

Our blog was created as an online communication platform to promote the sharing of current research in electronic packaging and innovative technologies in microelectronics. In our contributions – be it text or film – we provide an authentic insight into the R&D work of our scientists. As one of the world’s leading institutions for applied research, the development of robust and reliable electronics, and system integration, we cover an extraordinarily wide range of topics.

What are the challenges when you want to communicate complex scientific content?

In my role as a science editor, I regularly encounter two key challenges: The first is to present complex scientific topics in a way that is a wider audience can understand. Our editorial team has the responsibility to create articles that are both clear and easy to follow, as well as meeting the high professional standards of our scientists. In doing so, we cannot sacrifice comprehensibility in favor of depth and substance, or vice versa.

You mentioned two challenges. What is the second issue that you constantly have to face?

Fraunhofer’s core mission is to conduct application-driven research. The benefits of our development work for society will typically only become apparent in 5 to 10 years’ time. On our blog, we discuss application scenarios for semiconductor technology whose significance will often only become apparent in the distant future. I often find that many of our topics are still unknown to the general public when I report on my work as a blogger. At the same time, this challenge is the motivation for our blog team to make technological expert knowledge accessible to interested parties at an early stage and in an easy way to understand.

RealIZM was redesigned to mark its 5th anniversary. Are you planning further changes for 2025? If so, which ones?

Yes, this year we refreshed the design and improved the functions of our blog. In 2025, we will maintain our publication rhythm and also our bilingual (German/English) format. Both have been very well received. We are currently working on a concept to make the presentation of our blog on Fraunhofer IZM’s social media channels even more appealing and specific. We want to be more interactive and entertaining on Instagram in the future. We won’t reveal any more at this point. Follow Fraunhofer IZM on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube and see for yourself!

What would you like to see for the future of the blog?

After the publication of our 100th blog post, I am optimistic about the upcoming publications in 2025. The positive feedback from our colleagues on the occasion of our anniversary encourages me. More and more employees are proactively approaching us with suggestions for topics, and I am particularly excited about the growing interest in joint film projects that we can present on RealIZM for the first time.

I look forward to publishing even more films in the future. We have already filmed an exciting medical technology project in 2024 which we will be releasing soon. We have also done several film shoots in our Berlin cleanroom to document the production processes of HDI substrates on large formats.