What if the way we tell scientific stories shapes not only our understanding of the world, but the world we create through it?
This keynote draws on Senem’s background in academia and storytelling to examine how the stories embedded in scientific language, models, and metaphors actively shape research culture, innovation pathways, and human vitality.
Designed for R&D teams, research institutions, innovation leaders, and interdisciplinary forums, the talk invites participants to rethink not what they research but how they make meaning of what they observe.
The session runs 45–60 minutes, combining keynote storytelling with analytical reflection and a concluding Q&A.
Keynote themes include:
- A personal academic journey
Senem shares her transition from a traditional scientific career to storytelling, exploring how rigid language and classification can unconsciously disconnect us from vitality, curiosity, and embodied intelligence.
- Hidden assumptions in scientific explanations
Using the example of butterfly metamorphosis, the talk questions anthropocentric and competition-based interpretations often taken as objective truth; revealing how human fears and assumptions are projected onto the natural world.
- Fragmentation vs. integration in R&D
Through the parable of the blind men and the elephant, Senem highlights the innovation cost of siloed expertise and the missed opportunities that arise when specialization is not paired with integrative sense-making.
- Re-storying innovation through observation and relationship
A call to return to first principles of inquiry: deep observation, relational engagement, cross-disciplinary dialogue, and curiosity-led exploration – conditions that historically drive breakthrough innovation.
Conclusion:
How shifting research narratives from competition to coexistence, from extraction to relationship can unlock more adaptive, regenerative ecosystems, enable interdisciplinary innovation, and restore a sense of meaning and aliveness in research and education.
Please note: This proposal serves as a conceptual framework. Content is adapted in collaboration with organizers to align with organisational context, institutional goals, and audience needs.
For further information or to request a customized proposal and quote, please contact info@senemdonatanmohan.com
