Are you a Ph.D. student with a knack for communication? Do you want to tell more people about what you are working on? Do you want to influence the world through your research? Then the Researcher Grand Prix can give you the push you need to get started.
The experience of a lifetime
“It has been great to participate. I have learned a lot and met many talented colleagues and researchers. It has been a lot of fun and has made me much more confident in communicating my research.”
Says Anne Kristine Aase Ugland, a Ph.D. candidate at UiA's Department of Psychosocial Health, where she researches social exclusion. Together with Henrik Braadland, she topped the competition in the main hall at Bare student house in Kristiansand last year, before they both went to Oslo to participate in the national final there.
See pictures from last year's FGP Agder.
A better communicator, without a doubt
“It has been incredibly positive and an experience of a lifetime to participate. Without a doubt”, says Henrik, who is affiliated with the Department of ICT, where he researches the use of artificial intelligence in building permit processing in Norway.
“And I agree with Anne Kristine: It has made me much more confident in my own research communication, something I will benefit from throughout my research career. It is much easier for me now to tell both experts and the general public what I am working on and what my contribution to societal development is, than before.”
Unofficial Norwegian Championship in Science Communication
Researcher Grand Prix is the unofficial Norwegian championship in science communication and is part of the Researchers Days held around the country in September.
The participants are well underway with their Ph.D. but have not yet defended their thesis. They are selected several months in advance and receive professional help with presentation, stage performance, and voice use.
For the competition, they have prepared four-minute presentations about their own research project.
When the allotted minutes are over, the audience gives them points from 1 to 6. Then a panel of judges gives their feedback and points.
The two winners are invited to the national final where the prize is 20,000 kroner.
A super course in communication!
But Researcher Grand Prix is more than a competition and a show! It is also a super course in communication, where participants receive professional training in communicating their research from a stage directly to the audience, far beyond what is normally included in a PHD education.
Attendance is mandatory on the course days and for individual training. For 2025, the program looks like this:
- 4 May - Application deadline
- Around 9 May - Selection of participants
- 27 May - First group meeting
- 10 and 11 June - Individual guidance by appointment
- 26 August - Second group meeting
- 28 August – 2 September: Individual guidance by appointment
- 4 September - Third group meeting
- 17 September - Regional competition day, FGP show at Bare student house in Kristiansand
- Around 25 September - National final in Bergen
Contact, Researcher Grand Prix:
- jan.a.olsen@uia.no
- Phone
- +47 38 14 20 84