The EURAXESS Science Slam

I. Who is eligible to participate?

      1. The competition is open to participants from all nationalities and all research fields (including Social Sciences and Humanities, Life Sciences and Physical Sciences and Engineering).

      2.  When submitting their contribution to the Science Slam, eligible participants should be: (i) 18 years old or older AND (ii) be a MA/M.Sc. candidate (research based or mixed) or PhD candidate or PhD holder working in either universities, research institutes or private sector in India.

      3.  To enter the competition participants must be willing and able to participate in the final EURAXESS Science Slam India that will be held in Hyderabad on 18 November 2016. Economy return flights (1 ticket per person) and accommodation (2 nights) to the finals will be booked and paid for by EURAXESS Links India for the finalists based outside Hyderabad. Only one entry per person.

      4.  Available to attend a short science communication training in Bengaluru on 22 October 2016 before the LIVE finals.

II. How to participate?

The EURAXESS Science Slam competition consists of two stages: Winners of the 'Virtual' Pre-selection will qualify for the Live Finals to be held on 18 November 2016 in Hyderabad.

II.a The 'virtual' pre-selection

      1.  To enter the competition participants are invited to produce a video introducing their research. The video must not exceed 5 minutes in length. Participants are free to choose presentation styles and equipment as they see fit.

      2.  Submissions must clearly show the participant presenting his or her research in a manner chosen by her or him. Animation only is not permitted.

      3.  To enter the competition participants are invited to upload their pre-selection video via Dropbox and share the link to the video with euraxessindiaslam@gmail.com or send the video directly to euraxessindiaslam@gmail.com indicating in either case in the subject of the message: "EURAXESS Science Slam submission" and their full name. The accompanying email must contain the following information:

(i) Applicant first name; (ii) Applicant last name; (iii) Applicant title; (iv) Gender; (v) Career level; (vi) Institute/University/Company; (vii) Presentation full title; (viii) Research field; (ix) Maximum five keywords related to the research project/work; (x) Nationality; (xi) Source of information for the EURAXESS Science Slam.

A notification email acknowledging reception of the video will be sent within 5 working days.

      4.  Submissions are possible from 2 August to 2 October 2016. Participants are encouraged not to wait until the last moment.

EURAXESS Links India accepts no responsibility for entries that are defective, lost or delayed, or which are not received for any reason. 

The video entry should:

       1.  not exceed 300 seconds (maximum file size 20 MB)

       2.  be done in English

       3.  feature only the person who is to present on the day of the finals of the EURAXESS Science Slam India 2016

       4.  start with the statement of the author's name, research position and home/host institution

       5.  be a shorter/synthetic version or a 'teaser' of the actual presentation (performance) to be made during the real slam event on 18 November 2016

The review panel for the online competition (i.e. pre-selection panel for the live finals) will be comprised of a team of research scientists and/or administrators from India and the EURAXESS Links India Country Representative.

The review panel will select up to 5 finalists from all submissions received by the end of the submission deadline. Submitted videos will be assessed based on the following criteria, all of equal importance:

      = Accessibility for non-experts

     = Conceptualisation of slam (how structured is it?)

     = Presentation style (how entertaining is it?)

     = Originality (how creative is it?)

The production quality (image quality, quality of the support material or equipment etc.) will not be a selection criteria, as long as the resolution, light and sound quality allow the review panel to see and hear the presentation clearly. Videos shot with smartphones, webcams and any video recording devices will all be accepted.

Finalists will be notified by email. The pre-selection will also be announced on the EURAXESS Links India website and other online channels used by EURAXESS Links India (these can include LinkedIn, Facebook or any other social media as well as publications such as the EURAXESS Links newsletters). The decision of the review panel will be final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

II.b The live finals

The 5 finalists will compete at the live finals of the EURAXESS Science Slam India 2016 to be held in Hyderabad on 18 November 2016. A return economy flight and accommodation (2 nights) will be provided by EURAXESS Links India for the finalists based outside Hyderabad.

The 5 finalists will present live in front of a non-expert audience composed of members of the research community and of the wider public: 

      1.  The presentations will be done by one person only.

      2.   Every presentation will be done in English.

      3.   The 1st prize will be awarded to the best performer as decided by the audience and the review panel.

      4.   Each performace (presentation) shall not exceed 10 minutes.

      5.   Presentations can be supported by video and audio material, ppt. slides and any other kind of media available, as well as by scientific equipment, in accordance with the venue's capacity and security measures.

      6.  After each presentation there could be questions by the review panel and the audience.

The performances (presentations) of the 5 finalists will be assessed based on the following criteria, all of equal importance:

     = Accessibility for non-experts

     = Conceptualisation of slam (how structured is it?)

     = Presentation style (how entertaining is it?)

     = Originality (how creative is it?)

By entering the competition the winner agrees to support EURAXESS Links India with the production of further promotional material (which may include photography, filming or interviews) in the context of the Science Slam competitions as the organiser (EURAXESS Links) may reasonably require.

The review panel for the live competition will be comprised of a team of research scientists and/or administrators from India and the EURAXESS Links India Country Representative.

III. The first prize

The winner of the LIVE finals will be awarded the first prize. The first prize consists of the following components:

       1.  A free round-trip to Europe (Brussels, Belgium) in the spring of 2017 (most likely in June) to visit EU institutions.

       2.  During the stay in Europe, a trip to a research institute of the winner's choice within the European Union.

EURAXESS Links will only cover the following expenses:

       1.  The economy round-trip flight to Brussels, Belgium. The flight will be arranged from the Indian city the winner is based in at the time in question.

       2.  The winner will receive the lump sum of 800 EUR to cover the costs for accommodation and food as well as Inner-European travels during the stay in Brussels, Belgium and the respective city where the meeting with a research organisation of the winner's choice within the European Union takes place.

The prize will not be transferable to another person.

IV. Intellectual property rights and disqualification

By participation in this competition all participants declare that they hold the intellectual property rights to the research presented, or are explicitly allowed to present such research.

Participants are responsible for ensuring their submissions do not infringe copyrights.

By participation in this competition all participants allow the organisers to publish the videos they have submitted as well as the recording of the live performance at the finals.

Abusive and derogatory entries will be disqualified.

Contact:

Ms Ainhitze Bizkarralegorra Bravo

Country Representative

EURAXESS Links India

E-mail: india@euraxess.net