The prize giving ceremony to reward the winners of the science communication contest, entitled '4-Minute Science', was held, this morning, at the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre in Bell Village, in the presence of the Acting Chief Technical Officer of the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Mr Ricaud Auckbur; the Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre, Dr Aman Kumar Maulloo; the Regional Manager of the Mauritius Commercial Bank, Mr Norbert Coignet; and other personalities.
The overall objective of this new contest, launched by the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre in September 2021, was to promote creative expression of science by encouraging students from secondary schools, in teams of two, to conduct research, to disseminate scientific information and to explain its relevance to society in a four-minute video, targeting a non-specialist audience.
Some 82 entries from 51 secondary schools were submitted for the contest on topics ranging from health and climate change to astronomy and ocean science. Students from Grades 7, 8 and 9 were grouped into Category 1, while those from Grades 10 and 12 made up the second Category. Participants were, in addition, trained on effective science communication by the Australian science communication specialist, Dr Stuart Kohlhagen, Australia in an online workshop in October 2021.
The winners were determined by the evaluation of a jury panel comprising scientists from the University of Mauritius and the Mauritius Institute of Education. All of the 20 finalists received gift packs comprising bags, USB flash drives, among others. The Mauritius Commercial Bank sponsored the prizes.
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Ecole du Nord bagged the first prize of Rs 15,000 in Category 1 for their video on ocean currents. Mauritius College Girls took the second prize of Rs 10,000 with their work on humans being responsible for global warming while the third prize of Rs 5,000 was awarded to Adventist College for their presentation on the way GPS navigation work.
In Category 2, the first prize of Rs 15,000 was won by London College for their project on DIY Aquaponic; the second prize of Rs 10,000, by Queen Elizabeth College for their video on the secrets of finger printing recognition technology; and the third prize, by Sodnac SSS for their presentation on catalytic converters (CatCons).
Commending the spirit of participation of the contestants, the Acting Chief Technical Officer, Mr Ricaud Auckbur, underlined that the '4-Minute Science' competition provided them with diverse skills such as research, public speaking, organising ideas and condensing knowledge. He thanked the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre and the Mauritius Commercial Bank for encouraging young people to engage in science communication.
As for the Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre, he talked of the way the COVID-19 pandemic enabled the science institution to develop new innovative projects and initiatives to sustain its objective of science popularisation. Dr Maulloo announced that more activities were scheduled in the near future, including a Mauritius - India STEM (Science Technology Engineering Maths) Week to be held online, in a fortnight.
