Liz Smith
Important and fascinating research in 3 minutes or less. READY. GO! Out of roughly 150 submissions, the top twenty-five postsecondary students from across Canada gathered at the Congress Centre Expo Event Space yesterday to showcase their diverse research projects in the second annual Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) “Research for a Better Life: The Storytellers” challenge. The aim? To convey the relevance and importance of their SSHRC-funded research, each covering a different societal issue, through a compelling story in a 3 minute segment.
“This initiative is part of a larger ambition to showcase how SSHRC research is helping us understand the world around us towards a better future”, said the keynote speaker.
The success of the Storytellers initiative to pitch a diversity of innovative research in an accessible manner to a wide audience is well-recognized. There was a 70% increase in entry submissions this year from last year, and the Council has embraced technological tools to make the submissions available online. To see the top 25 Storyteller submissions, click here.
An expert panel of judges deliberated on the quality of the presentations based on three criteria: creativity, persuasiveness and clarity.
The judges made a difficult decision narrowing the candidates from twenty-five to five -- and they are…
- Robin MacEwan, Master of Social Work, Carleton University for “Who Can We Turn To? Social Supports for Former Foster Youth”
- Michael Muthukrishna, PhD candidate Psychology, University of British Columbia for “Database of Religious History”
- James O’Callaghan, Master of Music Composition, McGill University for “How Can Music Mean Something”
- Vineeth Sekharan, BSc Psychology, York University for “Boxed In”
- Marylynn Steckley, PhD candidate Geography, University of Western Ontario for “Eating White Foods to Escape Black Identities”
Congratulations all!
These budding scholars will present their stories next at SSHRC’s 2014 Impact Awards in Ottawa on November 3rd where a final winner will be selected.
To see a full list of bios and submissions by the top 25 contenders, click here.