Beyond Science: stories from the unseen Africa for Transylvania Executive Hub

On 29 September, our team took part in Beyond Science: Stories from the Unseen Africa, an event organized for Transylvania Executive Hub at DoubleTree by Hilton in Cluj-Napoca. The evening brought together science, field experience, photography, and personal reflection in a format designed to encourage open dialogue with the audience.

The event explored Africa beyond the strictly scientific lens, focusing on the human, cultural, and ecological complexity of fieldwork. Among the themes addressed were leadership in tribal communities without formal hierarchies, encounters that challenge conventional ideas of "normality," the realities of doing science in contexts shaped by both local culture and wild nature, and the stories behind photographs that capture not only images, but also lived experience.

Rather than a conventional academic lecture, this was a broader conversation about what lies around and beyond research itself: context, people, uncertainty, interpretation, and the way field science changes perspective. Events of this kind are valuable because they create space for a different kind of scientific communication, one that remains grounded in expertise while also allowing room for narrative and visual storytelling.

The program included a welcoming coffee, the main lecture, a Q&A session, and networking afterwards, creating an excellent setting for discussion beyond the presentation itself. We were glad to contribute to this event and to share a side of African fieldwork that is rarely visible in formal scientific settings.