Rules for AKAM "My Talk-Your Questions" Competition


Deadline for Registration for MTYQ : Midnight of 17-December 2021
Deadline WILL NOT be extended

Event Dates : 17-21 January-2022
(Tentative)

The Competition

To commemorate 75 years of India’s Independence, the Institute for Plasma Research (IPR) is organizing a special competition for schools "My Talk, Your Questions" or MTYQ for short, is a competition with a new concept with an aim to introduce cutting edge research work being undertaken at IPR (and elsewhere) to students in a popular, understandable talk format so as to foster interest amongst Plus 2 students for basic sciences and research.

The participating students will be given a 'book of Abstracts" well in advance which will carry abstracts of the talks. Students are expected to ask relevant questions to the speaker regarding the scientific content in the talk(s) that they will get to listen to in their preliminary round.  

A panel of judges consisting of scientists from IPR will evaluate the questions asked and subsequent interaction, thereby judging how well the participant has understood the concepts of the talks. Prizes and certificates will be awarded accordingly. Winning students will also get an oppertunity to visit IPR and interact with scientists as and when covid restrictions on campus visits are removed.  


Please read the information given below carefully before registering for the competition.

Format of the Competition

1. Each school can enroll a maximum of TWO participants (single student representation is also welcome)
2. Each school will be randomly drawn into one of the four available Groups (A-D)
3. Group A will sit through two ‘qualifier’ talks on Monday: morning 10:00-11:30 and afternoon 15:00-16:30.
4. Group B-D will have their respective qualifiers on Tue-Thu.
5. Only the designated Groups will be able to question the speakers through Meet/Zoom. However, the full sessions would be streamed live on YouTube.
6. Each school will be allowed to ask 4 questions (this includes follow-up questions)
7. All talks will be different, in English, and at an easy-to-understand (popular) level.
8. Schools will be given a Book of Abstract with information on all the talks once they register.
9. However, schools do not find out until the start of their sessions which talks they would be sitting for.
10. From each Group, 2 (at most 3) schools will qualify for the Finals (Friday).
11. The judging would be done by a panel of IPR scientists.
12. The decision of the panel of judges for this competition will be final and binding and no queries regarding this will be entertained.
13. Prizes would be awarded to the stand-out individuals and top performing schools based on the final session on Friday.
(NOTE: It is also possible that the marks of the Group stages are carried forward to determine the overall winners. The teams would be duly informed before the commencement of the Finals.)


Judging Criteria

The purpose of this event is to encourage curiosity and make students think about how the school level teachings translate to research frontiers. Winning teams would therefore be able to ask quality questions based on the contents of the talk demonstrating inquisitiveness and a good level of engagement with the topics.

In summary: The harder you can make the scientists think, the better!

(NOTE: Asking speakers random trivia related to their talk topic based on internet search does not carry much weight as it does not demonstrate conceptual understanding.)


Expectations From Participants

Participating students are expected to study the Book of Abstracts and be comfortable with the concepts. While we do not expect the students to have studied any topic in-depth, any amount of preparation would undoubtedly prove beneficial in grasping the talks and subsequent interaction with the speakers.


How to Register for the Competition

The coordinating teacher from the school should fill in the on-line form


Application deadline: Midnight, 17 Dec 2021

Event dates:  (tentative) 17-21 Jan 2022



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