News

Science Writing Competition 2024

  • DESCOM
    Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM)
    13 June 2024
  • Category
    Outreach
  • Topic
    Computer Science & ICT, Economics & Management, Education & Social Work, Engineering, Finance, Geography & Spatial Planning, High Performance Computing (HPC), Humanities, Law, Life Sciences & Medicine, Mathematics, Physics & Materials Science, Psychology, Neurosciences & Behavioural Economics, Social Sciences, Space

Scientists and researchers in Luxembourg are invited to participate in this popular science writing competition. By submitting an article about science and research in Luxembourg they can show that research is everywhere and it is for everyone!

The science writing competition is an opportunity for (almost) anyone working in science, research and innovation in Luxembourg to try out their science communication skills. Especially scientists and researchers are invited to practice their ability to communicate science by writing an article about research in Luxembourg that is understandable to anyone. The competition is also open to students in Luxembourg.

Texts can be submitted via this online form in English, French, German or Luxembourgish until 31 July 2024. The three winning articles will be published on science.lu. Thus, the text should follow a certain format and style (see FAQ and guidelines in the Terms & Conditions). You can also read the winning articles from the first edition of the Science Writing Competition there.

Before submission, you can also exchange and discuss your text with your peers as well as the organizer during a feedback session. It will take place on Campus Belval on 19 July 2024 from 13.00 to 15.00 at Maison du Savoir (MSA) 2.390. Everyone is invited to come and bring their text for peer-review.

This competition is organized by DESCOM, a project at the University of Luxembourg that offers training in science communication for doctoral candidates, in collaboration with science.lu from the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR). It is funded by the Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM).


FAQ

The competition is open to anyone studying or working in research and/or innovation in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, no matter the position or field of research. The only exception: Communication professionals are excluded from this competition.

Yes! Many of the staff working in the support departments of the University for instance worked as researchers before. They are warmly invited to send their text. If you are still unsure, just contact descom@uni.lu.

Yes. Entries from students in Luxembourg are also accepted.
FYI: The T&C have been updated accordingly on 12.07.24 to specifically include them as well.

No. In order to make this competition as fair as possible, no team submissions are allowed. Of course you can collect feedback on your text from others before submitting it, but the author should be a single person.

Yes, feel free to collect feedback from colleagues, friends and family on your text before submission. You can also receive feedback from the organizer of the competition as well as your peers on 19th July 2024 13.00 – 15.00 during a feedback session on Campus Belval (MSA 2.390). Come and bring your text!

Yes, as long as it fits the format. You are free to choose the content of your text, as long as science and research in Luxembourg is at the forefront of the article. It can be about an experiment, about a discovery, a scientific theory or anything else.

Yes. Your main text should not exceed 5000 characters (NOT WORDS!) including spaces. Your article also needs a kicker, headline and teaser. Not sure, what this is? Check the guidelines (first page) of the Terms & Conditions.

Texts can be submitted in French, German, Luxembourgish and English.

No. The Science Writing Competition is about text only.

Only online submissions will be taken into consideration. To participate just follow this link and submit your contact details as well as your text in the online form until 31 July 2024 the very latest. No uploads of documents are possible. Simply copy and paste your article in the respective field of the online form.

Yes! You can win a cash prize of up to 200€, a place in a media training and your article can even be published on science.lu.

A mixed team of jurors is reading and evaluating the submitted articles:

  • Michèle Weber from the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) and editor of science.lu
  • Malou Fraiture, PhD Training Coordinator and former scientific writer at the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH)
  • Isabelle Voegeli, Outreach Communication Officer at the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C2DH)
  • Constance Lausecker, Communication Officer at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST)
  • Nicolas Stamets, Social Media Communities Manager at the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER)
  • Christine Homolko, Team Leader of Communication Office at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT)

No. We want original contributions written by people. The winning texts will undergo a plagiarism and AI check.