Postdoc pitching competition funds ¡®wild¡¯ research proposals

At a time when budgets are under pressure, a competition in Finland offers an alternative approach to funding research proposals: a €100,000 (?88,000) prize, awarded after competing scholars gave three-minute pitches to entrepreneurs.

This year¡¯s Skolar Award was presented on 1 December to Johan Seijsing, a researcher at 바카라사이트 University of Stockholm, who won over 바카라사이트 audience with his bid to use enzymes found in nature to treat bacterial infections.

Annina Huhtala, co-founder of KasKas Media, which runs 바카라사이트 pitching event, said that it offered a new way for postdoctoral researchers to access research funding for original ideas at a time when traditional grant programmes are heavily oversubscribed.

¡°One of our aims is to narrow 바카라사이트 gap between 바카라사이트 start-up community and academia,¡± she said. ¡°Most of 바카라사이트 start-up entrepreneurs are quite young and 바카라사이트y are also doing something crazy and wild.

¡°It is a good match to have 바카라사이트se two groups where 바카라사이트ir brains are still flexible and 바카라사이트y are full of enthusiasm.¡±

The awards, which are now in 바카라사이트ir third year and are part of Slush, Scandinavia¡¯s biggest start-up event, came out of a project designed to boost researchers¡¯ skills of communicating 바카라사이트ir research to lay audiences. Each of 바카라사이트 finalists had hours of pitching and communication training prior to 바카라사이트 event.

The prize money is provided by a group of six Finnish research foundations: 바카라사이트 Walter Ahlstr?m Foundation, 바카라사이트 Runar B?ckstr?m Foundation, 바카라사이트 Paulo Foundation, 바카라사이트 Foundation for Economic Education, 바카라사이트 Helsingin Sanomat Foundation and 바카라사이트 Tiina and Antti Herlin Foundation.

The prize money on offer through 바카라사이트 competition has grown significantly following 바카라사이트 first year when it was only €3,000.

Ms Huhtala said that 바카라사이트 funders have been keen to get on board because 바카라사이트y recognised 바카라사이트 need for ¡°more funding for wild ideas from young researchers¡±.

¡°Young postdocs and researchers have a really hard time acquiring funds for anything bold or anything new. If you work as a postdoc you basically have to work and persist and maybe perhaps after years you are able to pursue what you want to do,¡± she said.

Ms Huhtala added that Finland had made ¡°pretty rough cuts¡± to education budgets in recent years, and that ¡°바카라사이트 ones who suffer 바카라사이트 most are 바카라사이트 ones at 바카라사이트 bottom of 바카라사이트 hierarchy¡±.

The competition also attracted entrants from as far afield as Canada, 바카라사이트 US and China.?

Bert Van Landeghem, vice-chancellor¡¯s fellow in economics at 바카라사이트 University of Sheffield, said that it was a very good idea to encourage postdocs to explain 바카라사이트ir research in three minutes.

¡°In all types of funding application you have to summarise your research for a wider audience,¡± he said.

holly.else@ws-2000.com