Three categories are open to entrants working in Australia and one is open to entrants working in New Zealand. The EMCR Forum considers an eligible Australian entrant to be within 15 years post-PhD (or other research higher degree) carrying out research in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics). The RSNZ ECR Forum considers an eligible New Zealander entrant to be within 10 years post-PhD (or other research higher degree) carrying out research across all science disciplines. Career interruptions and periods of part-time employment will be taken into consideration when determining eligibility. The spirit of this competition is to uncover great science stories from early and mid-career researchers employed in Australia or New Zealand. Please consider whether or not you self-identify as an EMCR before submitting an entry.
How to enter
Tell us about your research in a video of three minutes or less. It could be a general overview of current research or a specific research project you would like to pursue. It could be some knowledge that is fascinating or correcting a misconception. The goal of the video is to engage a wide audience with your research. Make sure the content is easy for everyone to understand. The more creative and engaging the video, the wider the audience will be who are likely to vote for it. There are no limitations on the style of video created. It may include traditional slides, an animation, a song, face-to-face talking to the camera or combination of above.
Video and audio must be of good quality, we will not accept poor quality videos. See examples from last years ‘
Inspire Australia‘ research competition. If possible, contact your university or organisational TV media unit who generally help in creating engaging videos for your research. If you need help to edit your entry, don’t let that stop you! We can recommend some fast and affordable solutions, see the FAQ for our contact details.
Once you’ve uploaded your entry, make sure you promote it on social media. On Twitter, use the handles @EMCRForum and @RSNZECR with the hashtag #180Science to let us know all about it!
Important dates
The cut-off date for entry is midnight on 12 August 2016 (Australian Eastern Standard Time). The voting period to determine the People’s Choice category and Science Across the Ditch category winners coincides with National Science Week in Australia, 13-21 August 2016. The voting period concludes at midnight on 21 August 2016 (Australian Eastern Standard time). All winners will be announced on 22 August 2016.
Competition Categories
Australian EMCRs: The Australian People’s Choice category will be open to all Australian entrants, with the winner decided by public vote during National Science Week. The winner of the Australian Future Leader and Australian Regional Future Leader categories will be determined by a panel of Australian judges to be announced in the days before voting opens. The Australian Future Leader category is open to all Australian entrants. The Australian Regional Future Leader category is open to all Australian entrants who live and work outside of a mainland capital city (excludes Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth). All Australian category winners will receive a travel award and a cash prize.
New Zealand ECRs: The Science Across the Ditch category is sponsored by the Royal Society of New Zealand Early Career Researcher (ECR) Forum, the Royal Society of New Zealand and the New Zealand Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). Two prizes are open to all New Zealand entrants. The winners will be decidedbetween 13-21 August. The overall winner (New Zealand Future Leader) will be selected by a panel of New Zealand judges to be announced in the days before voting opens. The New Zealand Future Leader will receive a travel award to attend Science Pathways and a cash prize of $2000 NZD. The Science Across the Ditch People’s Choice winner will be decided by public vote, with the winner receiving a cash prize of $2000 NZD.
Please specify if you are entering the Australian Future Leader, Australian Regional Future Leader or Science Across the Ditch category when you upload your entry. All Australian entrants are automatically eligible for the Australian People’s Choice category. Entrants who fail to specify the correct category may be deemed ineligible for the prize. There will be one overall winner for each of the four competition categories.
The prize
The four category winners must be available to attend the Science Pathways 2016 meeting on 26-27 September in Sydney. The four category winners will receive registration to Science Pathways and a non-cash award that includes travel and accommodation costs. Travel awards will be co-ordinated by the EMCR Forum and RSNZ ECR Forum. In addition to receiving a travel award, the three Australian category winners will each receive a cash prize of $750 AUD. The overall winner of the Science Across the Ditch category (New Zealand Future Leader) will receive a travel award and a cash prize of $2000 NZD. The winner of the People’s Choice for the Science Across the Ditch category will receive a cash prize of $2000 NZD. All cash prizes are to be used for research expenses or travel associated with research.
Conditions of entry
As the submitter of the video, you must be the copyright owner of all content or have permission from the creator to use their content. Credit for content that you do not own must be provided. All entries that breach this rule will be disqualified and removed from the website. By submitting an entry you are consenting to your video being promoted by the EMCR Forum and the RSNZ ECR Forum across different platforms. Your video may be screened at Science Pathways and in school classrooms as part of outreach and engagement activities. Your video may remain available on thinkable.org after the competition has concluded and it may be used in subsequent promotions for the EMCR Forum and the RSNZ ECR Forum.