The spaceship of Zamara is launching again on October 15th 2025 with the release of Volume 4 of “LUX:plorations – A Universe of Research”. It features short comics about science and research in Luxembourg, each of which is developed collaboratively by two doctoral candidates working together with a Luxembourgish comic artist and the LUX:plorations team.
The production of Volume 4 started in February, when eight doctoral candidates met Veronika Mischitz and Jessica Burton for the first time. The two comic experts act as mentors for the individual groups, guiding them through all the ups and downs of creating a comic. “Finding a good story is not an easy task, but also a skill that you can learn”, says Nicole Paschek, Project Manager of DESCOM (Doctoral Education in Science Communication).
Learning how to create science comics
Veronika Mischitz shared her science comic and storytelling expertise with the project participants in a science comic workshop. The doctoral candidates learned how to find a good idea, what makes good characters, how to write a plot, and how to craft the narrative. She was assisted by Jessica Burton, editor at Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon for international children’s books, and doctoral graduate from the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH).
After four comic workshop days, the doctoral candidates pitched their ideas in front of the whole team, including the organizational team and the artists who they teamed up with. In groups they are currently discussing draft versions, editing the texts and improving the stories further. In less than five months, the fourth edition of LUX:plorations will be published in the context of a release event. Don’t miss it by subscribing to our newsletter (4 e-mails max per year).
Where to find the comics
While you’re waiting, you can explore the first three editions of LUX:plorations on the dedicated website or by following the University’s Instagram channel. We are posting a story every week until the release date of Vol. 4. You’ll also find us on YouTube.
Hard copies can be found at the Luxembourg Science Centre or on the University’s campuses, for instance at the Luxembourg Learning Center and the MSA Auditoires on Belval Campus as well as the JFK building in Kirchberg Campus. Please note that several languages are currently out of stock. In case we receive any reprints, we will let you know via our newsletter as well as on the news section of sciencecomics.uni.lu. On this website you can download all five languages (English, French, German, Luxembourgish and Portuguese) for free.
Science workshops and more resources
The website also features different resources for teachers to support them in carrying out science workshops with their classes. The comics can be used as introductions to different topics. For instance, Carolina Amezcua, scientist at the University of Córdoba, Argentina found the LUX:plorations comic “Microglia: Guardians of the Brain” both inspiring and educational and will use parts of it in an educational poster for high school students to introduce them to Alzheimer’s disease. As the material is published with an open license (CC BY-ND 4.0), it’s easy to use in other contexts too as long as you don’t modify it and mention that it’s a comic by the University of Luxembourg.
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LUX:plorations is supported by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) and the André Losch Fondation. The project is possible thanks to the support of the Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM), the Doctoral School in Science and Engineering (DSSE) and the Doctoral School in Humanities and Social Sciences (DSHSS) of the University of Luxembourg. LUX:plorations is carried out under the lead of DESCOM, a project initially supported by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) that aims to support interactions between academia and the public by providing different modes of training in science communication to doctoral candidates as well as by organising and supporting outreach activities.