Vienna, 18 May 2012 – The "FameLab" competition awarded talents from the field of science for the sixth time on Monday. The focus lay on the ability of the next generation of researchers to communicate and express themselves. Nine young scientists presented their projects on 14 May 2012 in the "House of Industry" in the presence of the Industrial Association’s Secretary General Christoph Neumayr, Federal Minister for Education and Research, Karlheinz Töchterle and Regional Head of the British Council, Michael Bird as well as numerous other guests. Directly after the creative presentations, the jury unanimously decided in favour of biochemist Didac Carmona and announced him the winner of this year's FameLab competition. The online vote was won by archaeologist Katharina Holzinger and molecular biologist Maria Bauer.
The jury and all participants share the winners’ happiness.
Conveying complex research project comprehensibly in three minutes was the task of the nine participants and undertaken in the most creative of ways. Saliva samples, soiled train compartments as a synonym for cells and invisible monuments are just a small selection of the finalists’ vivid presentations.
Making complex contents comprehensible is like the rhetoric of antiquity
"It is a very important task to prepare complex, scientific topics in a comprehensible way in order to make them accessible to others. Innovation is the basis of our future and therefore we should all be able to understand it," says host Christoph Neumayr. Education minister Karl-Heinz Töchterle draws parallels with politics: "Explaining complex contents comprehensibly in three minutes is an art that one also has to master in politics. Rhetoric didn’t use to be a fundamental area of study for nothing, and far too little value is placed on it nowadays.".
Winner Didac Carmona won with his biochemistry project and therefore has the opportunity to present his research project at the Cheltenham Science Festival, UK, in front of an international scientific circle of experts. The Kapsch Group is also providing € 2,000 for the winner and two prizes of € 1,000 for the winners of the online vote. Alf Netek, CMO of the Kapsch Group explains, "If you’ve ever attended FameLab, then you’ll understand why we want to support this competition!"
FameLab is a competition initiated by the Cheltenham Science Festival, and is aimed at discovering talented individuals in the field of scientific communication. Under the motto "Talking Science!" the FameLab candidates are given the opportunity to present their field of research in a scientifically correct, easy to understand and compelling way. Since 2007, the competition has been held simultaneously in numerous countries (including the UK, Israel, Hong Kong, Germany and Greece) at the initiative of the British Council. In Austria the competition is organised by science2public in cooperation with the Austrian Federal Ministry for Science and Research. Austria’s most talented scientists presented themselves at the preliminary rounds in Graz and Vienna.
Kapsch is one of the most successful technology companies in Austria, with global importance in the future markets of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), Railway and Public Operator Telecommunications as well as Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The three core companies Kapsch TrafficCom, Kapsch CarrierCom and Kapsch BusinessCom belong to the Kapsch Group. As a family company with headquarters in Vienna, Kapsch has stood for the consistent development and implementation of new technologies to the benefit of its customers for more than 100 years. With a variety of innovative solutions and services, Kapsch makes an important contribution to the responsible shaping of a mobile and networked world. The companies of the Kapsch Group employ around 5,000 people in their worldwide branch offices and representative offices.
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