Falling Walls Lab Australia 2020, a competition in partnership with EURAXESS

The Australian Academy of Science in partnership with the Embassy of Germany in Canberra and EURAXESS Australia and New Zealand, will host the Falling Walls Lab Australia 2020 virtually on 8 September 2020.

Selected participants for this Lab will give a three-minute presentation on their research work, business model or unique initiative to a broad audience from science and industry, including a jury of distinguished academics and businesspeople who will select the most innovative and promising idea as the winner of Falling Walls Lab 2020 to represent Australia.

The distinguished jury will be chaired by Academy President, Professor John Shine. The Academy will award a prize of $1000 to the three presenters who place first, second and third. They will also receive a professional video created by the Academy’s own production team.   

The Lab is a fast-paced and exciting event for the audience and is accessible to anyone registering for the event. As the presenters could be scientists, social scientists, entrepreneurs or professionals across all disciplines, the Lab promises to be an interesting and motivating event for everyone!

Program Booklet

EURAXESS Australia and New Zealand Prize

EURAXESS Australia and New Zealand will provide a high-quality online science communication training to the winner of the Falling Walls Lab Australia. The training will focus on equipping the winner with essential communication skills that are directly applicable to effectively presenting his/her innovative idea in a virtual setting. It will include individual (one-on-one) consultation and mentoring to prepare the winner for her/his participation in the “Falling Walls Remote 2020: The Breakthroughs of the Year” competition. The winner will also have an additional networking opportunity since he/she will be able to connect with the winners of other Falling Walls Labs where a similar partnership between EURAXESS and Falling Walls is established.

Watch the recording below

International Falling Walls Lab Background

Falling Walls is traditionally an international three-day annual conference held in Berlin and inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989. The question of every Falling Walls gathering is: Which walls will fall next? The Falling Walls conference fosters discussion on research and innovation and promotes the latest scientific findings among a broad audience from all parts of society.

The goal of the Falling Walls Lab is to advance scientific and entrepreneurial visions, and to initiate and promote exchange between outstanding talents and innovative thinkers across disciplines. It is an international forum for the next generation of outstanding innovators and creative thinkers that takes place in over 55 countries annually, where local Falling Walls Labs showcase the quality, diversity and passion of their region’s most innovative minds. The Lab is a challenging and inspiring platform for emerging bright individuals, giving them an exceptional opportunity to become the next big success story in innovation.

This year the Falling Walls Conference has changed format and is now Falling Walls Remote 2020: Breakthroughs of the Year. It will shift from a series of meetings and one conference with a limited number of speakers and topics to a global showcase that gathers, celebrates and discusses a much broader set of breakthroughs in science and society. In place of the traditional Lab finale, winners of the local Falling Walls Labs will have their pitch video shared on the Falling Walls social platforms. From these videos, a panel of judges will select 10 finalists who will take part in the international digital live event on 4 November 2020. One presenter will then be awarded the Breakthrough Winner of the Year title in the Emerging Talents Category on pitching their breakthrough project along with nine other luminaries on the grand stage of the digital live event Falling Walls Day (9 November 2020) in front of an audience of industry leaders, decision-makers, investors, and international media representatives.

Agenda:

14:00: Welcome by Ms Anna-Maria Arabia Chief Executive, Australian Academy of Science

14:05: Introductory remarks by Professor Hans Bachor AM FAA Master of Ceremonies, FWL Australia 2020

14:10: Opening remarks by HE Dr Thomas Fitschen Ambassador, Federal Republic of Germany to Australia

14:15: Pitches (scholar presentations 1-10)

15:05: Jury deliberation (confidential); Networking break (invitees only); Q&A with previous FWL winners (live stream) 

15:25: EURAXESS presentation by Mr Nishant Shandilya, Regional Representative, EURAXESS Australia and New Zealand

15:30: Address by Professor John Shine AC PresAA FRS President, Australian Academy of Science

15:40: Winners announced (Audience award; Jury award)

15:50 Farewell by Professor Hans Bachor AM FAA