The University of Twente is a place where many scientific breakthroughs and innovations come from. Sometimes it can be hard to keep up with all of them, but we can all find time to watch a few seconds long movies. ´20 Seconds Science´ allows researchers to share their work with wider audience and possibly win a prize.
New way to communicate science
Professor Albert van den Berg, the Scientific Director of MIRA, is the initiator of the entire project. ´Twente Seconds Science began as an internal MIRA initiative, but MESA+ soon joined in. I thought it would be a great way to get people acquainted with different projects that the institutes are involved in, ´ he explains. ´The competition generates a lot of energy among young people and it engages social media, which fits well into today´s world. It is a new and creative way to communicate science.´
Two winners
There will be two winning videos. The jury, Dave Blank (MESA+) and Albert van den Berg (MIRA), will select the winners based on how well the video showcases the given scientific idea. There will be an additional winning video that will be determined by a popular vote. Anybody can watch the videos and ´like´ their favorite on the ´20 Seconds Science Facebook page´. One like equals one vote. The voting is open until the 27th of February and the winners will be announced in the beginning of March 2015. The winners will each receive an iPad Mini or equivalent in case of team efforts.
Twente seconds – trademark of Twente?
At the moment only two UT institutes are involved in the competition, but Prof. van der Berg hopes the whole university can participate in the future. ´We are only beginning. If we receive positive feedback, perhaps the project can be done on a larger scale. It might even become the trademark of Twente.´
Join in
Are you a researcher, PhD or master student at MIRA or MESA+? Are you working on something interesting and want to participate in the competition? You still can! People can submit their own videos until the 16th of February 2015.
