Bringing marine research carried out at the University of Vigo to the public in a relaxed, easy and fun way. This is the great challenge with which MARatón was born, a new competition promoted by the Marine Genetic Resources Laboratory and the Marine Research Center of the University of Vigo, and which seeks to ensure that participants capture the attention of the non-specialized public in a very short time, eight minutes in which they have to explain what their scientific work consists of.
MARatón was born from the hand of researcher María Fernández, a pre-doctoral student at UVigo and one of the winners of the 2018 edition of the dissemination competition We are scientists: get us out of here, an initiative aimed in this case at capturing the attention of students between 16 and 18 years old in order to make them see science as a good career option. The winners of the competition, as is the case of this researcher from Vigo, must allocate the prize awarded to carry out an activity that continues their career as disseminators, from creating a blog to launching a YouTube channel, etc. “In my case, I decided to organize a scientific competition that not only brings science closer to the Vigo public, but also encourages scientists to talk about their work in a simple and synthesized way,” explains Fernández.
The appointment will be on the 7th and 8th of May at Tinta negra bar
The event will be held on May 7th and 8th at the Tinta Negra bar (Irmandiños Street, 2, Vigo) between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. and is open to researchers from public entities (universities, research centers, etc.) and private institutions, as well as doctoral, master’s or undergraduate students who are starting their careers as researchers and want to share it. “The only requirement is that they are dynamic people and want to share their work with the public in a creative and synthesized way,” explains the Vigo researcher, emphasizing that it is a “very good opportunity to learn how to tell your work in a simple way while gaining the public’s interest in the marine field.”
The organization hopes that many young people will be encouraged to participate in this first edition of MARatón, as it will help them practice the art of communication, necessary for the presentations they will have to make in front of the public throughout their research career (conferences, thesis presentation, etc.). “At the same time, we hope that more experienced researchers see this competition as an opportunity to show their research to the public and, in this way, help them understand the importance and application of their work,” emphasizes Fernández.
Prizes and certificates of participation
In this first edition of the competition, in addition to a prize for the winner, there will also be surprises for the rest of the people who participate, as well as certificates of participation. To register, interested people must send an email to María Fernández at rexenmar@uvigo.es with the subject Inscrición MARatón, specifying the title of the talk, their full name and a contact email. Registrations will remain open until next Friday, April 26.
“We would like all those people who are hesitant about taking part in this first edition of MARatón to see this competition as an opportunity to improve their oratory skills in front of a non-expert audience”, explains the promoter of the competition, to which Alba Hernández, research technician at Ecimat and head of communication and dissemination at CIM-UVigo, adds the fact that citizens are increasingly interested in science and the problems facing the environment, so, “for those who are undecided, I would say that it is the best and simplest way to practice public speaking, since this competition is informal and open to an interested and non-specialized public, who will not put them to a test, but will gladly receive everything they can tell them about science”.
