The Life in the Universe Competition

 The Competition In 22 European countries students from 14 to 19 years old at the pre-university level are preparing projects representing their ideas of Life in the Universe. These projects can be scientific: a talk, webpages, a newspaper or artistic: theatre, film sculpture.

Each country will select winners who will then be invited to a special event at CERN in Geneva in November 2001. At this event they can present their ideas to the world's experts.

Rules for participation in the competition

1) Participation

 

i) Participants must be residents of the following European countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland or the United Kingdom.

 

(These countries are members of one or several of the organisations of the Life in the Universe Consortium).

 

ii) The competition is open to young people between 14 and 19 years of age*. Entries may be from teams or individuals. A team may have up to five members.

 

iii) Teams may consist exclusively of young people but no team may have more than one teacher as a member.

 

iv) Excluded from participation are: Members of the International Steering Committee and their relatives, members of the national jury and their relatives, staff members of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) and their relatives, the European Space Agency (ESA) and their relatives, staff members of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and their relatives, officers of the European Association for Astronomy Education (EAAE) and their relatives, staff members of Directorate General for Research of the European Commission and their relatives.

 

2) Subject of the Competition

 

The competition has two sections:

·         A scientific contribution (Category 1)

·         An artistic contribution (Category 2)

 

Entries under Category 1 could be:

·         a newspaper

·         a scientific paper

·         a factual website

·         an interactive CD-ROM

·         a scientific essay

·         a video documentary.

 

Entries under Category 2 could be:

·         a theatrical performance

·         a musical performance

·         a work of art (painting, sculpture, photography, etc...)

·         a fictional essay or script

·         poetry.

 

Entries must be submitted in a tangible form, such as: a website on a CD-ROM, a video cassette, an electronic file on disk, a paper copy, etc...

 

In the case of electronic submission, a hard copy must be sent to the National Steering Committee (respecting their deadline), together with a completed Competition Entry Form. Documentation of the project development should be included wherever possible (e.g. a project log, photographs of the work in progress, etc...).

 

3) Language

 

Texts must be written in (one of) the official language(s) of the country of residence, and should, if possible, include an English version.

 

4) Competition Entry Form

 

i) Participants must submit to the National Steering Committee a completed and signed Competition Entry Form, including a signed declaration by the teacher/team leader that:

 

·         the selection of existing material was done by the individual or group, and

·         all original material, design and layout was the work of the individual or group.

 

ii) Any medical condition of a participant that may pose restrictions on travel or residence abroad must be reported in writing together with the Competition Entry Form.

 

iii) For participants under the age of 18, a declaration of consent must be signed by their parents or guardians (for participation and for possible selection for travel).

 

5) Submission Date

 

i) The deadline for submission is set by the National Steering Committee and published on the national Life in the Universe homepage.

 

ii) Entries, including a stamped, self-addressed envelope for return of material, must be submitted to the National Steering Committee.

 

6) Judging

 

i) The entries will be judged by a National Jury in the country of residence of the participants.

 

ii) General criteria for the evaluation will be drawn from:

·         Originality and Creativity

·         Relevance

·         Scientific Accuracy

·         Clarity

·         Organisation and Presentation of Ideas

·         The ability to discuss the subject matter from a multidisciplinary point-of-view.

 

7) Prizes

 

All winners will be notified personally.

 

The National First Prize is:

 

A 3-day visit to the Life in the Universe Conference at CERN in Geneva. CERN is one of the world’s premier research laboratories.

 

During the Conference there will be a public event – the ‘Super Contest’ – at which all National Winners will be invited to present their work.

 

The best two presentations will be awarded the ‘Super Contest Prizes’:

 

·         An invitation to attend an Ariane rocket launch at the ESA Kourou Spaceport (French Guyana, South America) with associated benefits, e.g. meeting scientists and engineers.

·         A visit to the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) at Cerro Paranal (Chile, South America) with associated benefits, e.g. meeting scientists and engineers.

 

8) Rights

 

The Organisers reserve the right to unrestricted publication of the competition entries without fee to the originators. The submitted material will only returned to the originators if a stamped, addressed envelope is included.

 

9) Violation of Rules and Disputes

 

i) Violation of these rules will lead to the immediate disqualification of the entry,

ii) The deliberations of the jury are confidential,

iii) The decisions by the jury are final and cannot be brought before a court of justice.

 

 


* young people at the pre-university level.