Participate

Anyone who is enthusiastic about science and research can submit entries to Fast Forward Science. Whether you are a student, a young researcher, a science communicator, a YouTuber, or someone interested in science – we have a category for everyone! Since production and research are often teamwork, we also welcome team submissions from up to six people.

You can find detailed information below and in the Call for Submissions and the  Conditions of participation. 

The submission period for Fast Forward Science 2022/23 began November 14, 2022 and ended February 7, 2023.

How can I submit?

  • Type

    A post published on social media between 9th of February 2022 and 7th of February 2023 that is publicly accessible via a link. The entry does not have to have been produced explicitly for Fast Forward Science.

    For the Young Scientist Award, the Scientist & Research Institution Award, the Tandem Award and the Short & Crisp Award, we are looking for moving image contributions, such as YouTube videos, Insta Stories, TikToks or Twitch streams.

    For our special prizes Open Box Spezial and Audio Spezial we are explicitly looking for everything apart from moving images.

  • Reference to competition

    In the first sentence of the description of your submission, mention that it is part of the Fast Forward Science 2022/23 competition and add the link www.fastforwardscience.de. In addition, add the relevant hashtags, depending on which award(s) you are submitting to: #youngscientistaward, #scientistaward, #tandemarward, #shortandcrisp, #audiospezial or #openboxspezial.

    If the description of your post is not editable afterwards, as it is the case for publications on Twitter or TIkTok, for example, you can either comment and pin the description under your own post or repost or retweet it with the description.

  • General

    The content must be free of adult content (violent or explicit scenes and language), third party rights, personality rights and copyright. Furthermore, it should be free of violent, sexist and discriminatory content and should not reinforce stereotypes. Therefore, pay attention to gender and diversity aspects in your videos. If you include topics concerning physical or mental health in your videos, remember to mention help websites or emergency numbers in the video description and to point this out in a trigger warning at the beginning of the video. The conditions of participation of the competition apply.

  • Number of videos

    Each person or team can submit a maximum of three entries. The Audio Spezial is an exception: Here, only one submission per person or team is allowed.

  • Content

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

  • Source information

    Fast Forward Science is all about science and research. It is part of good scientific practice to name sources. That’s why we would like you to mention your sources in the video that support your statements and/or lead to further information (e.g. in the video description).

  • Length

    There is no length restriction for the main competition and the special prizes. For the Short & Crisp Award, there is a length limit of 15 minutes.

  • Language

    German or English with German subtitles is accepted. Subtitles can be added, for example, on YouTube via “Transcript”. The only exception: for the Short & Crisp Award, entries can be submitted in any language, as long as English subtitles are included.

  • Advertising

    The content should not contain product placements. Exceptions can be found in the conditions of participation or in the FAQs.

  • Hint

    We particularly like contributions that are well-crafted, comprehensible and entertaining, that tell a story that surprises us, keeps us interested, make us think, and are authentic.

What happens when?

  • 14th NOVEMBER 2022
    KICK-OFF

    You can submit your entry to one of the six competition categories between the 14th November 2022 and the 7th February 2023.

  • 7th FEBRUARY 2023
    DEADLINE

    You have until 23:59 on the 7th February 2023 to submit your entry – then it’s time for our judges to get to work! If you’re submitting for Short & Crisp, you’ll need to be a bit faster: the deadline for our international award is the 20th of February 2023.

     

  • APRIL 2023

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

  • MAY 2023

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

  • JUNE 2023
    AWARD CEREMONY

    In June 2023, we will announce the winners at our award ceremony!

Legal requirements

There are some legal requirements for which we need your consent. This is the only way we can approve your entry for the competition and ensure that the competition runs smoothly. The following points are important:

  • You do not use GEMA-liable music in your entry.

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

  • There is no adult content (violent or explicit scenes and language) in your entry.

  • You accept the conditions of participation and the provisions on data protection.

  • You agree that Wissenschaft im Dialog gGmbH and participating project partners may process your personal data within the context of the organisation and implementation of the Fast Forward Science competition in accordance with the legal provisions to the extent necessary for the competition. This applies, in particular, to contact during the competition in the event of queries or with regard to current competition phases, external communication (if you are selected as a finalist), for statistical evaluations and the evaluation of the competition, as well as for inclusion in the newsletter.

Checklist

In order to better connect with other participants and to make Fast Forward Science more visible on your chosen platform, we ask you to consider the following points when uploading your entry:

Tip: Usually, this checklist can also be applied to conten that has already been uploaded!

  • At the beginning

    To publish your post on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and other media channels, you usually need your own channel.

  • Entry description

    In the first sentence of the description of the entry, please state that you are taking part in the Fast Forward Science 2022/23 competition and add the following link: www.fastforwardscience.de.

    If this is not possible, comment on the text below your post and attach the comment or repost/retweet the post with the necessary information on any social media platform.

     

  • Keywords

    Use the following keywords where possible (e.g. in the description or tags): Fast Forward Science, web video competition, science, science, knowledge, Wissenschaft im Dialog.

  • Hashtags & Links

    Use the hashtag #FFSci as well as the hashtag of the award you are applying for (e.g. #YoungScientistAward, #ScientistAward, #TandemAward, #ShortandCrisp, #OpenBoxSpezial, or #AudioSpezial). And remeber to @ us!

  • Comments

    Please unlock the comments feature of your entry to allow for a dialogue with your audience.

  • License Recommendation

    If possible, publish the entry under the Creative-Commons license CC-BY, so it can be freely used and redistributed.

How does the jury rate videos?

In the main competition, all entries will be judged according to five criteria: Content, Comprehensibility, Level of Entertainment, Structure/Traceability and Activation. For Open Box Spezial, the criterion Level of Entertainment will be replaced by Innovation, for Audio Spezial the focus will be on Presentation/Accessibility instead of Activation. Each entry will be judged by three jurors. Between 1 and 10 points can be awarded for each criterion, with 1 being the worst and 10 the highest possible score. In a jury session, the best rated entries will be discussed and the winners chosen.

  • CONTENT

    Here, for example, the depth and content of the topic discussed, the contextualisation of scientific findings and the accuracy of the information presented are considered.

  • COMPREHENSIBILITY

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

  • LEVEL OF ENTERTAINMENT

    Here it is important that the audience’s attention is maintained and that entertaining elements such as storytelling, humour, suspense and emotionality are employed effectively. 

     

     

  • STRUCTURE/TRACEABILITY

    Here the jury will assess how well thought-out the entry is, whether the storyline is coherent, and how comprehensible and memorable the points are.

  • ACTIVATION

    In this category, the jury considers whether the possibilities of the channel are exploited, whether the viewers/listeners are directly addressed and encouraged to engage, and how authentic and credible the person shown is.

  • INNOVATION

    Only applicable to Open Box Spezial. The originality of the format is decisive here: You can score points by presenting an innovative approach to online science communication and creatively exploiting the possibilities of the format.

  • PRESENTATION/ACCESSIBILITY

    Only applicable for Audio Spezial. Here you can score points with an appealing cover, a barrier-free website embedding, show notes and the involvement of your listeners.

FAQ

  • Contributions by teams are explicitly welcome. Teams of up to six people are allowed. A team must decide on a contact person who submits the entry in their name.

  • Yes, a total of three entries may be submitted. However, only one entry per participant can be among the finalists in each category. This means that if more than one entry from the same participant is a finalist/winner within a category, only the best entry will be judged and the others in that category will be eliminated from the competition. 

    The only exception is the Audio Spezial: Here, only one entry per person or team can be submitted.

  • Your entry must have been first published on the Internet between the 9th February 2022 and 7th February 2023. Older entries are not allowed.

  • Yes. If this is not possible, comment on the text below your post and attach the comment or repost/retweet the post with the necessary information on any social media platform.

  • No, the choice of topic is entirely up to you! 

  • No. You can submit entries in German or English with German subtitles for the main competition and the two special prizes. For our international award Short & Crisp, you can submit your entry in any language so long as you include english subtitles.

  • Go through all the images and recordings you have used one by one and search for the original sources. Identify the creator and get permission to use the footage.

  • In order to reach as many people as possible with your contribution, you should be careful when using language so as not to offend or exclude anyone. It is best to be inclusive and avoid stereotypes.

  • If you want to, for example, make a video about suicide, rare diseases, or other topics that focus on physical and mental health, it is important that people who are affected receive information and help beyond your entry. Therefore, include emergency numbers or websites of organisations that provide further information in your entry or in the entry description. If you include such topics in your entry, include a trigger warning at the beginning to help protect themself and prevent trauma from happening again.

  • Students, young researchers doing their doctorate, and postdocs in the first six years after receiving their doctorate. Your status in the year of the competition is the decisive factor, regardless of the date of the doctorate. This means that all participants who are currently still working on their doctorate or who submitted their doctorate in the period from 2017 to 2023 are eligible.

     

  • No. The evaluation is the sole responsibility of the jury.