The Union of Students in Ireland is delighted to run the Why Research Matters video competition 2022 in cooperation with the Irish Research Council. This competition aims to showcase the varied and high-quality work being undertaken by postgraduate researchers across the island. We ask the creative minds of the island’s postgraduate research community to produce a short video presentation about their research, and why it matters.

Submissions are open from August 20th to September 10th, with winners to be announced by September 30th. The submitted videos will be assessed and shortlisted by the IRC and USI, with the winner being chosen from the shortlist by an external judging panel.

The overall winner stands will receive prize of €500. Our judging panel will also be selecting two runners-up for most creative video and most informative video, with the winners of each winning prizes of €250, respectively.

Eligibility 

The call is open to all postgraduates registered to a higher education institution on the island of Ireland, regardless of funding or area of research. 

How to Apply 

To participate in the competition, we are asking you to create a video about the research that you are doing, discussing why you are doing this research, what you have learned or hope to learn, and why you think this research matters. Upon completion of your video, upload it to your preferred hosting service (e.g., YouTube) and then fill out this short application form to enter. Do not forget to include the link to your video in the appropriate section. 

Note: The application forms will be available to download on August 20. 

Videos should aim to be three minutes in length and no more than five minutes. The only requirements are that you state your name, institution, and funding source (if any) on video before you start your presentation and explain, by whatever means you chose, why your research matters.

You may be as creative as you wish, using slides, graphics, presentations, props, performance, or any other relevant means to convey your research and area of interest. The winners of the previous USI-IRC Why Research Matters video competitions can be found here.   

Key Dates

Call Open: August 20th, 2022 

Call Close: September 10th, 2022 

Shortlisted Announced: September 24th, 2022  

Winner Announced: September 30th, 2022

Further Information 

If you do not find the answer to your query in the call documentation, please contact postgrad@usi.ie and include the subject line USI/IRC Video Competition.