Participate

In the main competition, we are looking for video and audio content. Participation in the YOUNG SCIENTIST AWARD is open to students, doctoral candidates and postdocs up to 6 years after their doctorate. The special prizes for the BEST DEBUT and the AUDIO AWARD are open to all science enthusiasts, regardless of their scientific or professional background. To be eligible for one of the special prizes for the best debut, the submitting channel’s first contribution must not be older than one year at the competition’s submission deadline.

As production and research are often teamwork, we are also happy to receive team submissions from up to six people.

All information can be found in detail in the call for entries and the conditions of participation.

The submission period for Fast Forward Science 2026 begins on February 16, 2026 and ends on April 30, 2026. Submit now!

How can I submit?

  • Type

    In the main competition: A post that was published between May 1, 2025, and April 30, 2026, and is publicly accessible via a link. The post does not have to have been produced explicitly for Fast Forward Science.

    For the special prizes for the best debut: A contribution from channels whose first post was not published before May 1, 2025. Any contribution from the channel that was uploaded between May 1, 2025, and April 30, 2026, can be submitted.

    For the YOUNG SCIENTIST AWARD and the special prize for the BEST DEBUT in the video category, we are looking for moving image contributions, such as YouTube videos, Insta Stories, TikToks, or Twitch streams. The contributions must have been published on a social media platform.
    The AUDIO AWARD and the special prize for the BEST DEBUT in the audio category honor scientific audio contributions of all kinds. Here, the restriction to social media is lifted; what is important is that there are opportunities for listeners to interact, such as liking or commenting.

  • Mention of the competition

    In order to be able to clearly assign your entry, you must indicate that you are submitting this entry to our competition. There are two ways to do this:

    1. In the first sentence of the entry description, reference must be made to your participation in the Fast Forward Science 2026 competition and the link www.fastforwardscience.de must be included. In addition, there is a hashtag for each award for which entries are submitted, which should also appear in the entry: #YoungScientistAward, #AudioAward, #BestDebutAudio or #BestDebutVideo
    2. If the description of your entry can no longer be edited afterwards, as is the case with publications on X, for example, you can either comment on and pin the description under your own entry or repost it with the description.

  • Fundamentals

    The content must be adult-friendly and free from third-party rights, must not infringe any personal rights and must not violate copyright law. It should also be free of violent, sexist and discriminatory content and not reinforce stereotypes. Gender and diversity aspects should be taken into account in the contributions. If the entries address topics relating to physical or mental health, the description of the entry should include help websites or emergency numbers and a trigger warning at the beginning of the entry. The terms and conditions of the competition apply.

  • Number

    Each person or team may submit a maximum of three entries.

  • Content

    A topic that is currently being researched. The focus should clearly be on current research and science.

     

  • Sources

    Fast Forward Science is all about science and research. It is good scientific practice to cite sources. Therefore, please cite sources in your article that support your statements and/or lead to further information (e.g. in the article description).

  • Length

    The YOUNG SCIENTIST AWARD for scientific video contributions is divided into the SHORT category and the LONG category. In the SHORT category, contributions up to 3 minutes are permitted, in the LONG category from 3 minutes. There is no length limit in the LONG category or for the AUDIO AWARD and the special awards.

  • Language

    German or English with German subtitles.

  • Cooperations

    The submitted entry must not have been created in cooperation with media houses or companies and / or streaming services

  • Product Placement

    Paid or unpaid product placements by or for third parties within the submitted articles or in the article description are not permitted at Fast Forward Science. Exceptions can be found in the conditions of participation.

What happens when?

  • 16th FEBRUARY 2026
    KICK-OFF

    You can submit up to three entries between February 16 and April 30, 2026.

  • 30th APRIL 2026
    DEADLINE

    You can submit your entries until April 30, 2026, 11:59 pm – after that our jury will get to work!

     

  • Spring 2026

    Our jury meeting takes place in spring. The winners of this year’s competition round will be determined there.

  • SUMMER 2026

    In summer, we will invite you to our award ceremony and announce the winners, but not yet in order.

  • AUTUM 2026
    AWARD CEREMONY

    In autum 2026, we will announce the winners at our awards ceremony.

Legal requirements

There are also some legal principles for which we need your consent. This is the only way we can accept your entry for the competition and ensure that the competition runs smoothly. This involves the following points:

  • 1.

    You have not used any GEMA-liable music in your contribution.

  • 2.

    You own all rights to the images and sounds that you use in your post or have obtained permission to use them.

  • 3.

    The content of your post is adult content.

  • 4.

    You accept the rules of the competition as set out in the conditions of participation, the invitation to tender and the provisions on data protection.

  • 5.

    You agree that Wissenschaft im Dialog gGmbH and participating project partners may process your personal data in the context of the organization and implementation of the Fast Forward Science competition in accordance with the statutory provisions to the extent necessary for the competition. This applies in particular to contacting you during the competition in the event of queries or about current competition phases, external communication (when entering the finalist round), for statistical analysis and evaluation of the competition and for inclusion in the newsletter.

Checklist

To help you network better with other competition participants and give Fast Forward Science more visibility on your chosen social media channel, we ask you to consider the following points when uploading your entry:

Tip: This checklist can also be applied to an already uploaded entry!

  • Describtion of the entry

    In the first sentence of the post description, mention participation in the Fast Forward Science 2026 competition and add the link www.fastforwardscience.de.
    If this is not possible, comment on the text below your post and pin the comment or repost the post with the necessary information.

  • Keywords

    Where possible, use the following keywords or hashtags: Fast Forward Science, competition, science, science, knowledge, Wisskomm, Wissenschaft im Dialog.

  • Hashtags & Links

    Use the hashtag #FFSci and the hashtag of the award you are applying for (e.g. #YoungScientistAward, #AudioAward, #BestDebutAudio #BestDebutVideo) and link us if your entry appears on Instagram, X or TikTok.

  • Comments

    Enable the comment function on your post so that a dialog with your audience is possible.

  • License Recommendation

    If possible, publish the article under the Creative Commons license CC-BY so that it can be freely used and redistributed. You can read why this is important here.

How does the jury rate?

For the YOUNG SCIENTIST AWARD, all entries will be evaluated according to three criteria: content, comprehensibility, and structure/clarity. An average score will be calculated based on the evaluations of these three criteria. In addition to the three evaluation criteria, the jury may award 0.5 points to the average score for the criterion “activation.” The same criteria apply to the special prize for BEST DEBUT VIDEO, where potential is evaluated as an additional criterion.

For the AUDIO AWARD, the following three criteria also apply to all entries: content, comprehensibility, structure/traceability. In addition to these content criteria, the presentation and accessibility of the entries are also included in the evaluation. This criterion is weighted by a factor of 0.5. An average score is calculated from the ratings of these four criteria. In addition to the four evaluation criteria, the jury can award 0.5 points to the average score for the criterion “activation.” The same four evaluation criteria apply to the special prize BEST DEBUT AUDIO, with potential also being evaluated here.

  • CONTENT

    Here, for example, the depth and content of the topic, the relativization and contextualization of scientific findings and the correctness of the presentation are important.

  • COMPREHENSIBILITY

    In this category, the use of language appropriate to the target group, the clear illustration of technical terms (e.g. through techniques such as analogies and visual graphics) and an effective learning effect are important.

  • STRUCTURE/TRACEABILITY

    Here we assess how well thought-out the composition is, whether the dramaturgy is coherent and how comprehensible and memorable the arguments are.

     

     

  • PRESENTATION/ACCESSIBILITY

    Only applies to the AUDIO AWARD and BESTES DEBUT AUDIO. Here you can score points with an appealing cover, accessible website embedding, show notes and the involvement of your listeners.

  • ACTIVATION

    In this category, the jury asks itself whether the possibilities of the channel are utilized, whether the viewers/listeners are addressed directly and encouraged to exchange ideas, and how authentic and credible the person shown is.

  • POTENTIAL

    The criterion of potential does not focus on technical or formal perfection. The decisive factor is whether the contribution and the channel show that further support could lead to positive development. In particular, development opportunities, independence, and the recognizable commitment of the content creators are evaluated.

Admission restriction

To participate in the YOUNG SCIENTIST AWARD, you must be a student, doctoral candidate or post doc up to 6 years after your doctorate. There are no restrictions regarding scientific or professional background for participation in the AUDIO AWARD and the special prizes for the BEST DEBUT. The only decisive factor for the special prizes for the BEST DEBUT is that the first entry in your account is not older than 1 year at the closing date for submissions.

Submit now

Entries can be submitted between February 16 and April 30, 2026

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FAQ