Skip to content

Lay-Terms Talks Competition 2023

Event Details

Date/time:

Thursday, May 11th, 2023 6:00pm ~ 9:00pm (Pacific Time)

Location: Langara College, T-Building Gallery (170 West 49th Avenue, Vancouver)

The competition will be followed by a social where light refreshments are provided.

Synopsis

VanBUG is hosting a competition for post-secondary students to present their scientific research in lay terms within 3 minutes! Each presentation should be about a student's research project (e.g. directed studies, internship, thesis work, etc.) related to computer or biological sciences. Students should feel free to present regardless of their project's scope or duration — the intent of this competition is to promote science communication in a manner accessible to the general public. We welcome participants to be creative and go beyond just words with their visual aids!

Winners:

  • 1st Place ($150): Miguel Prieto
  • 2nd Place ($90): Eric Press
  • 3rd Place ($45 each; tied): Aniket Mane, Samuel Leung
  • Viewer's Choice ($45): Anmol Singh
  • Attendee Prize Draws ($30 each): Edward Sun, Paniz Bayat

All winners will be contacted by email to receive their gift cards.

Contestants:

  • Lucy Chi (UBC)
  • Andrew Galbraith (UBC)
  • Samuel Leung (UBC)
  • Haley MacDonald (UBC)
  • Aniket Mane (SFU)
  • Erick Navarro (UBC)
  • Eric Press (UBC)
  • Miguel Prieto (SFU)
  • Mariia Radaeva (UBC)
  • Anmol Singh (Langara)
  • Ramlogan Sowamber (UBC)
  • Edward Sun (UBC)
  • Bessie Wang (UBC)
  • Yang (Oceanne) Wang (Langara)
  • Kimberly Tsz Ching Wong (UBC)

Presentation

Content

The Participant should present their scientific research project in lay terms (i.e. in a manner that a non-expert could understand). The project must be in a scientific discipline related to either computer or biological sciences (or both). The presentation must be delivered in person in English only; pre-recordings are not allowed. The content should be original and free from copyrighted, illegal, confidential, or offensive (e.g. profane, discriminatory, racist) materials, as determined by the Organizers. Any violations will result in instant disqualification.

Time Limit

A maximum of 3 minutes of presentation time is allowed.

Visual Aid

Presentation slides as one PDF or PowerPoint must be submitted to the Organizers for review one week before the competition. The number and format of slides is not restricted. Note that this will be a live event and presentations cannot be recorded in advance.

Evaluation

Competition placements will be determined by a panel of judges with expertise in science communication:

  1. Kevin Sauvé - Manager of Knowledge Translation at Michael Smith Health Research BC. Masters of Journalism from the University of British Columbia.
  2. Kaylee Byers, PhD - Senior Scientist with the Pacific Institute on Pathogens, Pandemics and Society at SFU; Host of Genome BC’s Nice Genes! podcast. Doctorate of Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of British Columbia.

Specifically, the following criteria are considered:

  1. Scientific Communication
  2. Delivery
  3. Visual Aid
  4. Overall Impression

The "Viewer's Choice" award will be determined by the audience.