Student success in Science Communication competition
Published: 6 July 2017
Three UofG students won prizes in the Biochemical Society Science Communication Competition 2017 and a further four were shortlisted.
Three UofG students won prizes in the Biochemical Society Science Communication Competition 2017 and a further four were shortlisted.
PhD student Alex Binks scooped first prize in the video competition for his entry ‘How to make a virus.
Alex said: “I am absolutely thrilled to have won first place in the SciComm competition and would like to thank everyone involved in the organisation and judging. The video was a lot of fun to make, and I’m delighted to think that it is being enjoyed by others as well! Hopefully my video will help people to understand viruses a little better and all the cool things that they are able to do.”
Bryony Barnes, a final year Microbiology undergraduate, came second in the written competition with her article ‘Neisseria meningitidis – more tricks than a magician.’
Bryony said: “This article started life as a piece of Final Year coursework, so I was amazed and delighted to hear I’d won second prize. What a great ending to my degree!”
Third prize was awarded to Microbiology undergraduate Catherine Baker. Her article was entitled ‘Bacteria are out of this world! Could they help us clean up our act?’
Catherine said: “In the digital age where so much information is readily available, communication of correct and accessible scientific information is increasingly important for public engagement. The competition is a great opportunity to showcase and share the work of students across the country and I am delighted to have won third place.”
University of Glasgow students shortlisted in the written competition were: Beth Poulton (Parasitology), Jennifer Rae, Joanne Mckenzie & Josephine Bellhouse (all Microbiology).
All written competition finalists got involved via two Science Communication workshops which are part of the final year degree in Microbiology, Parasitology and Virology.
Workshop tutor, Dr Tansy Hammarton said: "Being able to communicate complex scientific ideas simply is really important, so to help our students develop their communication skills, I asked them to write an accessible scientific article on a microbiology-related topic as part of their final year coursework.
The standard of their work was really high and I encouraged the students to enter their articles in the Biochemical Society competition, so I’m absolutely delighted by their well-deserved success."
First published: 6 July 2017
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