Participate

Anyone who is interested in science and research can take part and submit videos – regardless of whether they are students at school or university, young scientists, science communicators, YouTubers or anyone interested in science. Since video 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 Conditions of participation.

The submission period for Fast Forward Science 2019 started on 6 May and ended on 22 July 2019.

How can I submit?

  • Type

    A web video that was first published on the Internet between 1 August 2018 and 22 July 2019 and can be found on YouTube. For Super Fast, this year you can create an Instagram story and save it as a video that we’ll upload to our YouTube channel.

  • Content

    The video should be about a topic that is currently being researched. The relation to science should be clear. In the category VISION, the future is a key criterion, so it is also possible to think beyond the current state of research.

  • Length

    There is no length restriction. However: The web video should be entertaining!

  • Language

    Most of the videos are in German. We also accept videos in English, French if they have German subtitles (no automatic YouTube translation).

  • General information

    The content must be free of adult content (violent or explicit scenes and language), third party rights, personality rights and copyright. The Conditions of participation of the competition apply.

  • Tip

    We particularly like web videos that are well produced, understandable and entertaining, tell a story that surprises us, give us food for thought and are authentic at the same time.

What happens when?

  • 6 MAY
    Kick-off

    Between 6 May and 22 July 2019, you can submit your web video to one of the three competition categories.

  • 13 MAY
    SUPER FAST 24H INSTAGRAM CHALLENGE

    Be on your toes and produce a video on the assigned topic within 24 hours. The theme will be announced at the start of Super Fast at 12 noon on 18 May – the deadline is 12 noon on 19 May.

  • 22 July
    DEADLINE

    You can submit your web video until 22 July – then our jury will get down to work!

  • 16 SEPTEMBER - 14 OCTOBER
    ONLINE VOTING #VoteNow

    On 16 September we will announce the finalists who will compete for the Community Awards by online voting which continues until 14 October.

  • 15 OCTOBER
    ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE AWARD WINNERS

    We announce the winners as judged by the jury for most categories and from the online voting for the Community Awards.

  • 14 NOVEMBER
    AWARD CEREMONY

    at STATE Studio in Berlin.

Legal requirements

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

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

  • You own all the rights to the images you use in your video or have obtained permission to use the images.

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

  • You accept the Conditions of participation as set forth in the terms and conditions of entry.

  • 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 marketing purposes.

YouTube checklist

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

Tip: This checklist can also be applied to videos that have already been uploaded!

  • At the beginning

    To publish videos on YouTube, you need a YouTube channel. You can easily start it with a Google account. How can I do that?

  • Title

    Include Fast Forward Science 2019 in the video title.

     

     

  • Keywords

    Use the following keywords: Fast Forward Science, Web video competition, Science, Knowledge, Research, Wissenschaft im Dialog

  • Video description

    In the video description, please indicate your participation in the Fast Forward Science competition and add the link www.fastforwardscience.de.

  • Comments

    Unlock the comments feature of your video to allow dialogue with your audience.

  • License Recommendation

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

How does the jury rate videos?

All submitted videos will be judged according to the criteria CONTENT, UNDERSTANDABILITY, ENTERTAINMENT, PRODUCTION QUALITY and WEB VIDEO CHARACTER. Depending on the category, individual evaluation criteria are weighted with twice as many points. After 22 July, our jury will view and evaluate the videos on the basis of the five criteria according to a point system. Each video is evaluated by three different jurors. This is followed by the jury meeting, in which all jurors are equally entitled to vote.

  • Substanz

    Here the CONTENT is scored twice.

  • Scitainment

    Here the ENTERTAINMENT COOPERATION is scored twice.

  • Vision

    All criteria are equally important.

     

     

  • Super Fast

    All criteria are equally important.

  • COMMUNITY AWARD

    ONLINE VOTING

    16 September – 13 October

     

    EVERY „LIKE“

    +

    EVERY POSITIVE COMMENT

    +

    COMMENTS THAT ENRICH THE DIALOGUE & INITIATE DISCUSSIONS

    are worth double points

FAQ

  • Simply use our submission form.

  • Researchers, communicators, web video makers, YouTubers, people interested in science, school or university students, video artists, agencies specialising in research, freelancers, …

  • Yes, provided that the videos submitted are actually web videos produced for use on the internet.

  • Yes, if your parents agree. When you submit your web video, they will automatically receive an email with a consent form attached, which they must sign and return to us by post.

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

  • Yes, but in each category a maximum of one web video per participant can be included in the judging. That means: If several videos from the same participant are selected as finalists/winners, only the best video will be evaluated and the others will be removed from the competition. One exception is Super Fast: Anyone can take part and win, no matter how many videos he or she has in the Fast Forward Science race.

  • Your web video must have been first published on the Internet between 1 August 2018 and 22 July 2019. Older videos are not allowed.

  • No. A double nomination is not possible. Of course, you can produce one video for the special Super Fast prize and a second video for one of the other categories. The finalists in the three categories also have the chance to win the Community Award.

  • No, this is not a requirement, but a special request from us. This also applies to all other items on the YouTube checklist.

  • Yes, but such a web videos will always be judged as a self-contained single video and must be uploaded to YouTube like all other web videos participating in the competition.

  • With Fast Forward Science, we primarily want to promote German-language science web videos. Since English is widely used as a scientific language, shorter video sequences or entire videos in English and in French with German subtitles (not automatically generated subtitles from YouTube) are also possible.

  • There are three categories: SUBSTANZ, SCITAINMENT and VISION. These are each endowed with a total of €6,000; €3,000 for first place, €2,000 for second and €1,000 for third place. There are two special prizes: the Super Fast – 24h Instagram Challenge and the Community Award. Both special prizes are endowed with a single prize of €1,000.

  • No, the choice of topic is entirely up to you! There are restrictions here only with our Super Fast – 24h Instagram Challenge. We will set the theme and announce it at the start of Super Fast on 18 May. But don’t worry: this is a cross-cutting topic open to any scientific discipline.

  • All finalists have a chance to win the Community Award.The finalists, i.e. the four to six best web videos from each category, will be selected by the jury and published on this website on 16 September and take part in the online voting: The web video that is most discussed and evaluated on YouTube over a period of around four weeks wins the Community Award. We count every „LIKE“ and every qualitative comment that goes beyond „Great“, „Super“, „LOL“ or similar and enriches the dialogue. The Community Award is endowed with a single prize of €1000.

  • The finalists of the categories SUBSTANZ, SCITAINMENT and VISION. The finalists include the four to six best web videos from each category, selected by the jury and published on this website on 16 September.

  • During the online voting between 16 September and 13 October, you’ll be the main promoter for your web video. You invite friends, acquaintances, colleagues and your entire network to rate your web video on YouTube and comment on its content. The web video that is most discussed and rated on YouTube during the above mentioned period wins the Community Award. Likes and comments before the start of the online voting do not count towards this rating.

  • No.

  • Because it has to be fast! Super Fast has a special time limit, namely 24 hours based on the lifespan of an Instagram story. Therefore the Super Fast – 24h Instagram Challenge takes place during the submission period.

  • The Super Fast theme will be announced at 12 noon on 18 May – so you should be on your toes then. Once the theme is announced, you have 24 hours to bring current science and research into your Instagram story. The submission deadline is 12 noon on 19 May. The story must be downloaded as a video at the end of the 24h and uploaded using our submission form.

  • The prize money will be transferred to the account of the submitter, for team submissions to the account of the contact person of the team. The contact person of the team is responsible for the distribution of the prize money among the team members.

  • No.

  • The finalists are the four to six best videos in the SUBSTANCE, SCITAINMENT and VISION categories. The prizewinners include the top three videos in each of the SUBSTANCE, SCITAINMENT and VISION categories, as well as the Super Fast – 24h Instagram Challenge and the winner of the Community Award.

     

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

  • By specifically pointing out in your video where your topic is currently being researched. But you could also, for example, include the topic your web video deals with in the YouTube description of the video. There you can also add links to research institutions or researchers who are currently dealing with the topic in their work.

  • Hmm. 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 for your web video.