For the second time, Malta is taking part in Fame Lab, the biggest annual international competition for science and engineering students and young scientists and researchers with a flair for communicating with public audiences.
Contestants have three minutes to pitch a concept in science or engineering and deliver a talk to a panel of judges. Each judge will assess the finalists’ presentations on three qualities: content, clarity and charisma.
The topics of the presentations could range from unusual questions to fascinating or weird scientific facts such as: how do plants know they have been touched, how do cabbages keep warm in winter, how does a virus mutate, and why do men have nipples?
Auditions for Fame Lab Malta will be held at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology’s Institute of Applied Sciences on April 5.
The topics of the presentations could range from unusual questions to fascinating or weird scientific facts
Participants aged 18 and over can register online on www.famelabmalta.org.mt.
The local competition is being organised by the British Council, the National Student Travel Foundation (NSTF) and the University’s Research, Innovation and Development Trust (RIDT) in collaboration with Fame Lab.
The competition was launched recently at St Margaret Boy’s Secondary School, Cospicua, attended by British High Commissioner Rob Luke, Parliamentary Secretary for Research, Innovation, Youth and Sport Stefan Buontempo and the RIDT’s CEO Wilfred Kenely.
At the launch, the winner of last year’s edition of Fame Lab Malta, biomedical engineer Owen Falzon, delivered his three-minute presentation on brain-computer interfaces with which he placed among the top 10 contestants in the Fame Lab International competition final last year.
This year’s local finalists will be offered the opportunity to take part in a weekend master class with a British expert in media and communication skills. The winning prize consists of a fully paid trip to the UK to compete and represent Malta in the Cheltenham Science Festival from June 3 to 8.
Over 20 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and the US are taking part in the event.
Past winners of Fame Lab have gone on to travel the globe, perform in festivals and feature on national TV and radio, and many combine public-facing activities with on-going research. Generally, all finalists become part of a global network of science communicators.
For more information about the Fame Lab Malta and School Lab competitions, e-mail famelab@famelabmalta.org.mt (for Fame Lab) or school lab@famelabmalta.org.mt (for School Lab) or call Ingrid Eomois at the British Council on 2122 6377.
Science video competition for secondary students
School Lab is a new science communication video competition launched by the British Council and NSTF.
It is open to Form 1 to Form 4 students who form a team of between two and five members to present a scientific subject in an interesting and fun video.
Videos should be from three to five minutes long and should be uploaded on You Tube and the link sent with the team participants’ details to www.famelabmalta.org.mt/school-lab.
Videos should be submitted by March 30.
A panel of judges will choose 10 finalists and the public will also be able to vote for their favourite video until April 9.
The winner will be selected at the NSTF Science Expo, which takes place from April 7 to 10.
Prizes will be awarded to the best teams and all participants will receive a certificate.