Press Release 26/08/2013
It should be fast-paced, understandable and above all exciting. The Researcher Grand Prix competition was run for the first time last year. Now it is time for researchers in different scientific fields to step into the spotlight. This year’s 60 contestants will be talking about leg amputations, login security, the Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf and many other subjects – in just three minutes.
The Researcher Grand Prix is part of the annual science festival Researchers’ Night, which is taking place this year on 27 September. Nine Grand Prix regional heats will be held in Gothenburg, Karlshamn, Karlstad , Kristianstad, Lund (on 25 Oct), Malmö, Stockholm, Växjö and Örebro. The finalists will be brought together in Stockholm to compete in a large national final on 5 December.
All the researchers are given intense presentation skills training. Their challenge is to make the three-minute presentation about their research as captivating and educational as possible. The audience and an expert judging panel select the winner.
“Our aim is to increase public interest in research and knowledge in Sweden. To achieve this researchers must be able to talk about their work in a straightforward and engaging manner, something the competition is designed to encourage,” says Lotta Tomasson, National Coordinator of Researchers’ Night for VA (Public & Science).
Researchers’ Night, which is held at 30 locations* across Sweden, is open to everyone. There will be experiments, workshops, hands-on activities, science cafés, ‘after work science’ – and all for free.
“We want to show that researchers are ordinary people with particularly exciting jobs! At the same time, we want to create forums where the public and researchers can meet and discuss how research affects us all in our daily lives,” says Lotta Tomasson.
Researchers’ Night is the European Commission’s annual science festival that runs on the fourth Friday of September each year in some thirty European countries. In Sweden events are organised by colleges, universities, municipalities and science centres. The Swedish Researchers’ Night and the Researcher Grand Prix is co-ordinated by VA (Public & Science) and run with the support of the European Commission and a number of research councils – the Swedish Research Council, VINNOVA, Formas and Forte.
For more information and press photos visit www.forskarfredag.se and www.forskargrandprix.se or contact:
Lotta Tomasson, Project Manager, VA (Public & Science), +44(0)70 728 97 20, [email protected]
VA (Public & Science) promotes dialogue and openness between researchers and the public – especially young people. The organisation works to create new forms of dialogue about research. VA is also developing new knowledge about the relationship between research and society through surveys and studies. Its members consist of over 80 organisations, authorities, companies and associations. In addition, it has a number of individual members. For more information visit www.v-a.se/in-english/
* Eskilstuna, Gothenburg, Halmstad, Jönköping/Värnamo/Eksjö, Kalmar/ the County of Kronoberg, Karlshamn, Karlstad, Kristianstad, Lidköping, Luleå, Malmö/Lund, Skellefteå , Skövde, Stenstorp/Falköping, Stenungsund, Stockholm, Sundsvall, Umeå, Västerås, Örebro and Örnsköldsvik
