Roxanne Currat, museum curator

I work as a curator at the UNIL-CHUV Hand Museum in Lausanne. I'm in charge of scientific exhibitions for the general public: researching information, designing with the museum team, setting up with the scenographers and technicians, creating workshops or teaching materials and training guides.

I've long been interested in the link between science and society. During my biology studies at the University of Lausanne, I took courses in the ethics and sociology of science. I also ran scientific events in my spare time. At the end of my MSc in Genomics and Experimental Biology (editor's note: since replaced by the MSc in Molecular Life Sciences), I did a seven-month placement at L'Eprouvette, the UNIL's public laboratory. I worked as a researcher and then joined the Museum.

At university, I acquired a grounding in scientific methodology which is very useful for reading scientific articles, which is what I do to prepare exhibitions and keep up to date. I also learnt how to synthesise information, but here I also have to 'translate' it into language that the public can understand.

When I started my studies, I never imagined myself working in a museum. Today, I'm aware that I'm lucky, because permanent jobs are pretty rare in this field. Internships and meetings with people in the field are important to increase your chances of finding a job in popular science.