British Council FameLab competition 2019, how to participate

After the successful launch of FameLab in 2017, this year the British Council brings FameLab to Dhaka and for the first time to Sylhet and Chittagong. The registration is now open and it will end on January 25, 2019.

British Council organised a launching ceremony for the FameLab 2018-19 on 20 December 2019 at the British Council Auditorium. Professor Abdul Mannan, Chairman, University Grants Commission of Bangladesh was present as the chief guest of the event.

The audience of close to 100 included Bangladeshi finalists from the previous round of FameLab who briefly spoke about their experience in the competition. Alvee Islam, the national winner from Bangladesh who went on to compete at the Cheltenham Science Festival in London also spoke about his life-changing experience while performing in London. Professor Abdul Mannan appreciated the opportunity provided to the youth through FameLab and encouraged them to represent Bangladesh in the international competition. “FameLab is making science fun and I am happy to see it trying to engage the young generation of the country with the concepts of science” he said.

There have been over 200 registrations nationwide after the launching of Famelab last year. The science competition, created by Cheltenham Festivals and co-produced by the British Council, aims to discover up-and-coming scientists who inspire people to see the world from a new perspective. A partnership between FameLab and British Council, since 2007, has seen the competition go global with more than 9000 young scientists and engineers participating to date.

Each contestant in the FameLab competition will deliver a three-minute presentation on their chosen topic. Every presentation will be judged according to the golden rule of the 3 Cs: content, clarity and charisma. After the initial round of auditions in the three cities beginning in February 2019, selected participants will travel to Dhaka to participate in Masterclass conducted by a renowned scientist from the UK. Here the finalists will have the opportunity to develop an in-depth idea of how to generate and materialise unique scientific ideas and to present those in creative ways on-stage within three minutes. The final National Gala round will be held in Dhaka on March 22, 2019, where one FameLabber will be selected to represent Bangladesh at the International Cheltenham Science Festival in London, UK.

Finalists from across the five continents will compete to be named as the most interesting, accessible and charismatic science communicator by a panel of expert judges. The final will take place at The Arena in front of a packed Cheltenham Festival audience. Thousands will watch the live-stream around the world.

The registration link is https://britishcouncilbangladesh.wufoo.com/forms/famelab-2019/

People can keep up with all of the action on Twitter by following @FameLab and @CheltSciFest, and join the conversation using #FameLab.