Inspired by Albert Einstein’s famous quote “If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself,” a new contest is to be held at METU titled “Tell Us About Your Research.” Students qualifying for the contest will present their chosen topics to a jury consisting of children and address the curious questions asked by the young members of the jury.
The contest titled “Tell Us About Your Research,” organized by METU Office of Science Communication, is open to undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students of METU. Those who want to take part in the preliminary stage of the contest must submit their applications by Monday, December 18. Each participant will be able to compete with a single research topic of their choice in their field. In order to be evaluated in the preliminary stage, candidates are expected to make a one-minute video on their chosen research topic and upload it to the web page of the contest. The preliminary evaluation will be conducted by the jury members appointed by METU Office of Science Communication, and the students who qualify for the contest will be announced by Thursday, December 21.
The contest, which will be conducted in Turkish, will take place on Saturday, December 23, at 13.30. Contestants will have three minutes to tell the jury consisting of primary and middle school students about their research topic. The presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer session. The total time allotted for each participant, including the Q&A session, will be limited to five minutes. Participants will not be allowed to use a computer or projector during their presentations; instead, they will use stationery equipment that will be provided by the contest organizing committee on the day of the contest. The evaluation of participants and the final result will be determined by the scores given by both the young jury members and the professional jury consisting of METU faculty members, as well as the audience.
The winner of the contest will be awarded 15,000 TL, the first runner-up 10,000 TL, and the second runner-up 5,000 TL, while the contestant to take the fourth place will receive a 3,000 TL gift voucher as a Special Prize in Science Communication.
Detailed information about the contest and the application form can be found at METU Science Communication Office’s web site [in Turkish].
