INFO SESSION:

FALLING WALLS

LAB TOKYO 2018

University of Tokyo, 5-6 March 2018

Dr. Matthieu PY

EURAXESS Japan

Ms. Konstanze Lang

DWIH Tokyo

Today‟s Outline

• Why? Science communication

• What? Falling Walls Lab

• How? Tips & exercises

• Q&A

Why science communication?

Funding appeal to peers

Innovation discussions w/ different backgrounds

Responsibility participate in progress of scientific community

Accountability giving back to the society

From this…

…to that!

What is Falling Walls?

₩ International platform for leaders from the worlds of

science, business, politics, the arts and society

₩ Initiated in 2009, on the 20th

anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall

₩ Ensemble of events with an underlying question:

Which walls will fall next?

₩ Fosters discussion on research

₩ Promotes the latest scientific findings to a broad audience

What is Falling Walls Labs?

₩ Science communication contest for outstanding

talents in multiple locations around the globe

₩ Speakers: 3 minutes to present their research

₩ All disciplines welcome

₩ Prestigious jury distributes awards

What is FWL Tokyo 2018?

Third edition, first hosted by UTokyo

12 May (Saturday), Koshiba hall, Hongo

₩ Unique opportunity for science communication in English

₩ 10-20 invited speakers who went through pre-selection

₩ 2 winners will be sent to FWL Finale in Berlin in Nov.

₩ Distinguished Jury members TBA mid-March

What is FWL Tokyo 2018?

Third edition, first hosted by UTokyo

12 May (Saturday), Koshiba hall, Hongo

₩ Participants present their own, innovative research work

₩ For a non-expert audience

₩ In an intelligible, engaging and entertaining way

How to apply to FWLT2018?

Call for abstracts running until 9 April:

1- Present your own research project

2- Strict format (all English):

Tagline =40 ch. Teaser 50ch.

Outline of addressed issue 200 ch.

Outline of proposed solution 200 ch.

Motivation statement 400 ch.

CV (pdf)

3- Submit: bit.do/FWLT2018-euraxess or bit.do/FWLT2018_dwih_en

'Practice and perfect! For example, you can

think about these questions: what is my

research about and what is its main goal? Or,

what will it do for others or the planet? If you

already have a great result, what is it and why

is it important? If you have a great idea,

what‟s the potential and impact? Then,

choose keywords that describe that in a

simple, concise, catchy way.„ Ana Verissimo, winner of FWLT2017

How to prepare a good contribution?

How? 1- FWL scoring criteria

!! Not an English literacy contest!!

Plan, think, write an outline!

For example:

Introduction:

background and problematic | „what am I trying to solve?‟

Main part:

method/experiments/techniques | „what is characteristic of my

research project?‟

Conclusion:

results or expected results | „what did I/will I achieve?‟

Hindsight:

the big picture | „what is this going to become in the future?‟

How? 2- A good structure

Structured doesn’t mean formal/classic!

For example:

Express yourselves:

Make it personal! Do you have a passion/hobby? Try and include it

to the contribution if relevant!

Engage your audience:

Make them participate and not just listen!

Practice, perfect, practice, perfect:

The one and only secret!

Do not let technology/happenings stop you:

tech problems? audience distracted? Turn it at your advantage!

How? 3- A good performance

How? 4- Good accessibility

Think about your audience!

They have different backgrounds, they‟re tired, they‟re bored!

Three levels of interactions:

1/ Would my colleagues/co-workers understand?

2/ Would my friends & family understand?

3/ Would a random person in the street understand?

Who is my audience? And if all three, what do I need to convey to

these different groups?

Keep your messages clear and short!

Use simple words, define jargon you can’t avoid!

Not too fast, not too slow: throttle your flow of ideas!

Write clearly and directly (very few characters!)

Avoid abstract nouns: Use descriptive subjects and active verbs

Avoid words with multiple interpretations: be exact and to the point

Avoid “elegant” words and verbose phrases

How? 5- Written abstract specifics

Sentence 1

In consideration of the requirements

for flat-rolled aluminum products,

there is the observation of an

increasing demand in the market for

tight dimension tolerance, especially

for thickness distribution along the

strip length and profile (thickness

distribution along the strip width).

Sentence 2

Recently, customers are

demanding tight dimension

tolerance in flat-rolled aluminum

products; especially, they require

an evenly distributed thickness

along the strip length and profile

(the width).

Source: Bagheripoor M, Bisadi H. Production and Manufacturing Research. 2014;2:128-141.

Exercise 1- Which reads better?

Sentence 1

In consideration of the requirements

for flat-rolled aluminum products,

there is the observation of an

increasing demand in the market for

tight dimension tolerance, especially

for thickness distribution along the

strip length and profile (thickness

distribution along the strip width).

Exercise 1- Which reads better?

Sentence 2

Recently, customers are

demanding tight dimension

tolerance in flat-rolled aluminum

products; especially, they require

an evenly distributed thickness

along the strip length and profile

(the width).

?

TITLE PROBLEM SOLUTION TEASER

Breaking the Wall

of medical issues

CMT is one of the most

common forms of inherited

neuropathies. But,

pathogenesis of CMT is not

fully understood, and there

is no effective therapy yet.

Considering the

advantages of

Drosophila as a useful

model organism, I

developed Drosophila

models for CMT and

identified interaction

between CMT causing

gene and various kinds

of factors.

Novel

approach for

saving

incurable

patients

Exercise 2- work on past abstracts

TITLE PROBLEM SOLUTION TEASER

Breaking the Wall

of humanity's

inaction on

climate change

Climate change mitigation

technologies have failed

due to a dependence on a

Carbon tax. A profitable

method to reduce CO2 is

necessary for the rapid

deployment necessary to

avoid societal collapse.

I created a profitable

method to convert CO2

into a stable building

material while treating

brine. The revenue-

providing sectors

(construction, water

production) will likely

grow with climate

change.

How do you

make people

compete to

save the

world?

Exercise 2- work on past abstracts

Exercise 3- work on past talks

VIDEO 1

VIDEO 2

https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/worldwide/japan/interview-ana-verissimo-wi

nner-falling-walls-lab-tokyo-2017-edition

https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/worldwide/japan/interview-albert-mufundirw

a-2nd-place-winner-falling-walls-lab-tokyo-2017

https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/worldwide/japan/hot-topic-science-communi

cation-improve-your-research-career

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtEysafrO3U&list=PLwf_f56PxkcQcKg

XKxsFDKbAnPX8IJy3B

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96iLPhrmKbQ&list=PLwf_f56PxkcQ37

6PPmxurO7wkoQi9FhH3

Further tips & tricks

Thanks for participating!

Q&A time!

APPLY NOW & UNTIL 9 APRIL

bit.do/FWLT2018-euraxess or bit.do/FWLT2018_dwih_en

Questions? mail: japan@euraxess.net