The Europe-wide online video competition ‘ScienceClip’ aims to inspire school pupils to take an interest in science and technology and to help them develop their communication skills in these areas.
Science and technology should be fun. Teaching them can even be thoroughly entertaining – for example, through the use of artistic elements. This belief is shared by 16 partners from ten European countries, who have been exploring creative approaches to science education for the past two years as part of the EU-funded CREATIONS project. The aim is to encourage young people across Europe to engage with these very topics and, in doing so, to further develop their communication skills. To this end, the partners have, amongst other things, organised an online video competition. In videos they have devised and filmed themselves, pupils explore a scientific topic of their own choosing. “We are convinced that this approach will inspire more young people to take an interest in science and technology than the traditional educational route,” says Professor Alexander Gerber, Professor of Science Communication at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, with confidence.
The Faculty of Technology and Bionics at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences is responsible for coordinating the international competition. Alongside the University of Bayreuth, the university is the only German partner in the CREATIONS project. The competition is open to secondary school pupils aged 11 to 13, 14 to 16 and 17 to 19. They may submit a video blog or an animation either individually or as a team. A selected jury will decide on the winners based on the criteria of creativity, originality, clarity, and the standard and quality of the scientific content. “Above all, we are keen to see the creative, artistic approaches of young people, who often have a completely different perspective on the natural sciences and engineering than the education system apparently expects,” said Professor Gerber. However, we will have to be patient until then, as entries can be submitted online until 1 June 2018.
Following a multi-stage selection process, the six winners from the three age groups and the two categories will be announced on 16 September 2018. The prize-giving ceremony is scheduled for December. The overall winner will also be rewarded with a visit to CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research) in Geneva, which is also one of the project partners in CREATIONS.
Information and the terms and conditions of entry can be found at www.scienceclip.eu
