• Question: Why did you enter this competition?

    Asked by sawyer to Aime, Akshat, Diana, Gemma, Judith, Akshat on 14 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by jabber8.
    • Photo: Judith McCann

      Judith McCann answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      I’m just starting out at my phd and it seems a big part of doing research is being able to explain it to other people, with all kinds of science background (so school students, university students, as well as doctors and profs!). I thought this would be a good way to practice communicating… How am I doing?

    • Photo: Akshat Rathi

      Akshat Rathi answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      I was insanely curious about what questions would you guys ask me. I was a high school student just like you not too many years ago. If I had a chance to speak to a scientist at that time I would have grabbed it with both hands and I would hope to learn something from them. I hope that from this competition I am able to satisfy my younger self by helping you guys make sense of our world! 🙂

    • Photo: Aimé Fournier

      Aimé Fournier answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      I have been very privileged to learn so much science and engage in interesting research, and so I want to share it. I enjoy talking about my work, yet it’s also a challenge because the science I work on is related to weather, which everyone experiences, but the way I work is very mathematically advanced, so I need to practice communicating —and get feedback! I also enjoy learning what science young people are interested in.

    • Photo: Gemma Sharp

      Gemma Sharp answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      When I signed up, I didn’t really think of it as a competition, but now I have to admit it’s really addictive and I want to win! hehe

      I guess I entered because I wanted to be able to tell you guys about the work I’m doing, and science in general.

      I think it’s important for scientists to learn how to communicate their research to non-scientists, because we have to convince people that science is worthwhile.

      I’d also heard the competition was fun and gets you thinking about your research in new ways. We’re only on day 2, but I’ve already answered loads of really thought-provoking questions about my research.

    • Photo: Diana Samuel

      Diana Samuel answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      Aside from it sounding like a lot of fun and a great experience, I thought it would be a great chance for me to practise communicating my research to others. The scientific projects we’re all working on are very important, but they’re almost meaningless if we don’t know how to tell anyone about them!

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