- Calls for applications open 18 December 2015 and close 19 February 2016
- 50 Australian semi-finalists win presentation training sessions.
- 15 finalists participate in a 2-day professional development course.
- The winner appears at The Times Cheltenham Science Festival, UK, June 2016.
- Applicants can be Honours students, graduate students or up to 5 years post-PhD, researching in any field of science, maths or engineering.
The British Council is looking for passionate early career researchers with a peer-reviewed discovery and a flair for communicating with public audiences to present their science at FameLab Australia.
Contestants have just 3 minutes to convey a scientific concept on stage in an original, entertaining style. They are judged on the content, clarity and charisma of their presentation.
Great science communication has the potential to alter stereotypes, create excitement and interest about science and help the public understand the importance of funding for scientific research. Famelab is for science, maths and engineering researchers who want to build their communication skills and make strong connections with other researchers here and overseas.
FameLab International, the world’s leading science communication competition, finds and mentors young science, mathematics and engineering researchers who have a flair for communicating with public audiences.
Co-presented by the British Council and The Times Cheltenham Science Festival, the competition has been running annually since 2007. More than 5,000 participants from 27 countries have ‘performed’ on the FameLab stage, bringing their science to live audiences.
In 2016, four semi-finals will be held across Australia in March and April, with the National final hosted by the Western Australian Museum - one of the competition’s founding partners - in Australia in May. The national winner will represent Australia in the international FameLab finals at the Cheltenham Science Festival, UK, in June.
“FameLab at the Cheltenham Science Festival was just fantastic. Winning FameLab meant that I learned so much about communicating science and now I can easily talk about my complex research to just about anyone,” said 2015 FameLab winner, Dr Sandip Kamath from James Cook University, who used a plastic lobster and a policeman’s hat as stage props.
“If you're a young scientist with a passion to convey your research, I definitely encourage you to apply to be in FameLab. The training and professional development sessions were excellent, so even getting to the heat level will teach you a great deal," said Dr Kamath.
Presented by British Council and Cheltenham Festivals | Founding partners: Western Australian Museum and The McCusker Charitable Foundation | University partners: Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University and University of Western Australia | Venue partners: Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Queensland Museum, Museum Victoria and Western Australian Museum | Queensland presenting partners: World Science Festival, Brisbane.