Finaliștii concursului Games of Science, ediția 2022
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Universitatea Politehnica din București

Games of Science - a new programme inspiring researchers to bring science closer to the public

The British Council Romania and the BioMentorHub Association have launched Games of Science, a project promoting science communication that builds on the FameLab Romania legacy. 

From March to May 2022, more than 150 students and young researchers from Romania benefited from free training sessions, at the end of which they competed in a one-of-a-kind science presentation competition designed to hone their skills.

The Games of Science format 

During the training, participants learned how to speak in public, how to use their emotions to be more convincing and practised presenting complex topics in plain language. The "Games of Science" tournament, organised online at the end of the training, was an original competition format developed by science communication specialist Ada Roseti, in which young researchers took part in elimination rounds of science presentations, ranging from just 15 seconds to 3 minutes. 

The aim of the trainings and the competition was to encourage young people who have or want a career in research to explain complex ideas and processes in a way that is understandable to the public in the shortest possible time.

The 2022 edition of Games of Science was run by the British Council Romania in collaboration with the BioMentorHub Association under the "Science for All" project, funded by CIVIS OPEN LAB-UB / University of Bucharest.

What's the aim of Games of Science?

Presentation skills are essential in a researcher's career. That's why, if you study or work in research and use scientific methods, Games of Science aims to encourage you to explain complex concepts, processes, theories and research to your audience in a short time. 

The original Games of Science training and competition format supports young researchers who want to push their own boundaries in scientific communication and want their talk to be convincing, concise, delivered in a tone that does not allow emotions to come out, but also adaptable to any target audience.

What do I learn in the training?

The topics covered during the training sessions are aimed at developing science communication skills, including: 

  • managing emotions; 
  • adaptability and versatility in delivering a public speech; 
  • choosing key messages for the target audience; 
  • structuring a public communication; 
  • practising under realistic conditions the skills of preparing and delivering a short and very short public communication.

How is the Games of Science competition run?

The Games of Science tournament takes place online on the Sunday after training. It is an original competition format developed by trainer Ada Roseti, in which you will participate in elimination rounds of presentations of a scientific topic, without PowerPoint support, lasting from 15 seconds to 3 minutes.

The format is designed to train you to be able to speak clearly and simply about a complicated topic in any context - whether it's an elevator pitch or a longer talk. 

After each round, the jury will decide who goes through to the next round. 

In the first round, you will have only 15 seconds for your presentation. In each round you qualify for, you will present the same topic, but for a longer duration:

  • Round 1 - 15 seconds
  • Round 2 - 30 seconds
  • Round 3 - 1 minute
  • Round 4 - 2 minutes
  • Round 5 (final) - 3 minutes

In the final round the top two competitors will compete to determine the champion of the respective tournament. 

The first and second place winners of the competitions will be invited to participate in the national finals - Game of Science Tournament of Champions, which will take place in June in Bucharest. 

Am I eligible?

The "Game of Science" competition is open to young people between the ages of 20 and 34 who fall into the following categories:

  • students who are studying at bachelor, master or doctoral level at universities in Romania and abroad
  • young researchers
  • university teachers
  • pre-university teaching staff
  • other categories of specialists working in educational and research institutions or scientific and technological organisations in Romania. 

How can I register?

Sessions are held online over the weekend - the training takes place on Saturday and the competition on Sunday. Signing up for a session means you will participate in both the training on Saturday and the competition the following day. 

You can choose whichever session you prefer, even if you are not affiliated to the partner university. Participation is free, but places are limited!

When registering, you will also need to give us some details about the topic you want to present in the competition. After filling in the online form, we will check your eligibility and your chosen topic, and then contact you to confirm your entry - or for further details if necessary. 

How do I choose my theme?

Your Games of Science speech must cover a scientific topic of your choice - as long as you present a topic based on real research, demonstrated with scientific evidence, you can talk about anything.

The scientific topic/research you present does not have to be original (e.g. your research paper), but can be any eligible and well-documented topic that interests you.

What do I need to prepare for the competition?

For the Games of Science competition you will have to prepare a presentation on your chosen topic, which you will need to deliver freely, without PowerPoint support and without reading, over varying lenghts of time. 

The shortest presentation you will have to deliver will be 15 seconds long, and the longest - 3 minutes. Details of the format can be found above under the question "How is the Games of Science competition run?"

Don't worry, you'll get guidance and practice for this free presentation format in the pre-competition training. 

Prizes

The winners of the regional "Games of Science" competitions as well as the winners of the national final - the "Games of Science" Tournament of Champions - will be awarded. Prizes will be offered by the respective event hosts and other project sponsors. 

At the end of the programme, all training and competition participants will receive certificates issued by the British Council and BioMentorHub. 

Champions' Tournament

The national final of the competition - the Games of Science Champions' Tournament - brought together 10 young researchers, finalists of the project sessions, who accepted the challenge to talk about complex scientific research in a simple and engaging way, for as short as 15 seconds and up to 3 minutes.

The event took place on Saturday 18 June 2022 at the Polytechnic University of Bucharest. Before the competition, on 17 June, the young researchers also attended a one-day masterclass on science communication, led by communication specialist Ada Roseti. 

During the finals, the competitors were evaluated for the attractiveness, clarity and impact of their presentations by a jury composed of Dr Sorin Cebotari, Mădălina Cocea, Vasile Decu, Andrada Fiscutean, Dani Petrache (Danivers), Oana Racheleanu and Anda Vișan.

Winners and finalists of the 2022 Champions' Tournament

1st place - Andrada Balmez

Theme: How can we make sure personalised medicine is the right answer?

Andrada is a biology graduate from Imperial College London and a master's student in biology at the University of Cologne, while also studying literature, languages and education at Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca. Her presentation on personalised medicine earned her first place in the competition, along with a prize of 400 euros from the Hermann Oberth Association for Education and Science. 

2nd place - Isabela Dragomir

Theme: Antibiotics of the future based on antimicrobial peptide molecules, nature's effective solution to combat bacterial resistance

Isabela is a PhD student in molecular biophysics and research scientist at the ICI Interdisciplinary Research Institute of Al. I. Cuza in Iasi. Her presentation on nature's solutions against anitbiotic resistance earned her second place in the competition, along with a 300 euro prize offered by the Ad Astra Association. 

Finalists

Andrei-Robert Alexandrescu - Detection of train switches using artificial intelligence and image processing methods (Special Award of the Politehnica University of Bucharest)

Victor Baerle - Single-celled algae: a nutritious and cheap food

Mihaela Borota - Mathematical modelling and river pollution

Corina-Ioana Cobzac - Nature and Mechatronics (Special Award of the Romanian National Commission for UNESCO)

Claudiu Roman - Atmospheric chemistry and technologies for the destruction of gaseous pollutants (Audience Award)

Ionela-Cristina Petcu - Optimization of the magnetic actuator of a bacterial detection system 

Gabriela Prundaru - Human behaviour from the perspective of neural plasticity (Special Jury Award - Vasile Decu) 

Lavinia-Ioana Verdeș - Barriers in student learning and how teachers can help students overcome them

The first and second place contestants in the competition, as well as the winner of the Audience Award, also received Cambridge English Assessment or Aptis English language exams from the British Council Romania, as well as book bundles from the science and fiction collections of Humanitas Publishing House.

The first edition of the Games of Science Champions Tournament was organised by the British Council Romania, the Biomentorhub Association and the Politehnica University of Bucharest, under the coordination of science communication specialist Ada Roseti, and with the support of partners Hermann Oberth Association for Education and Science, Ad Astra Association, Humanitas Publishing House, Romanian National Commission for UNESCO, Lexonn.

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