FameLab, “Pop Idols of Science” back at Wits
- Wits University
Wits University will once again be hosting the international Famelab science competition in March.
Famelab is an international competition that aims to inspire young scientists to share their work with a general audience.
The competition consists of one day of science communication training, and one day of competitions (called the Heat), where students will compete against each other in presenting their research in a fun, interactive and informative way to the general public.
The focus of the competition is to explain a scientific concept (or research) in three minutes to a general audience.
The Wits Famelab workshop is scheduled to take place on Monday, 19 March 2018, in Senate Room, 2nd Floor, Solomon Mahlangu House, Braamfontein Campus East and the Heat will take place on Tuesday, 20 March 2018, also in Senate Room.
The training is free of charge, and will really add value to your personal and professional development. The semi-finalists of the Wits Heat will go through a regional competition, after which they might advance to the national Heat, and stand the chance to represent South Africa in the International finals. Semi-finalists of the regional competition will also receive additional training in a communications master class, presented by experts in communication techniques in order to train them in oral expression to improve their communication skills.
Who is eligible to enter?
The competition is open to students between the ages of 21 and 35 (more focussed on post-grad, but can also be undergrad). The focus of the competition is on the communication of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), so anybody in that field will be allowed to enter.
This promises to be an opportunity for your students to gain great experience and skills in communicating their work.
Should you wish to enter, please send your details to Refilwe Mabula at refilwe.mabula@wits.ac.za by Wednesday, 7 March 2018. Please include the following information:
Name:
Date of Birth:
Discipline / Field of expertise:
Place of work:
Email address:
Telephone number:
More information
Additional information on the competition can be found on the Famelab website.
You can also watch clips of the talks of the 2017 finalists via: http://www.saasta.ac.za/famelab-2017-top-10-finalists/