The Institute of Physics Manchester Branch is holding a Young Persons Lecture Competition on Wednesday 26 March 2014 at 6.00pm and is looking for potential speakers.

The lecture should concern a topic relevant to Physics and be accessible to a general audience. It should be a maximum of 8 minutes long and will be followed by 2 minutes for questions from judges. Computer facilities will be available (please ask if you require programmes other than PowerPoint) but it is not necessary to use these. Cash prizes of up to £100 will be awarded for the best presentations on the night. There will be separate prizes for School pupils and undergraduates/postgraduate level presentations.

The aim of the competition is to provide an atmosphere of friendly competition to enable students and school pupils to seek to improve their presentation skills, as well as providing an event to entertain and educate those with an interest in Physics.

The competition will be held in SB G.01, Sandra Burslem Building, Lower Ormond St, Manchester, M15 6HB (note change of venue). It will start at 6.30pm with sandwiches and drinks available from 6pm. All are welcome to come and see the talks and we will aim to finish by 8pm.

Eligibility Criteria
Applicants should either be in full/part time education (school or university) or vocational training at the time of the competition and have less than 3 years full time work experience (please enquire if you are unsure over eligibility). There will be separate prizes for School pupils and undergraduates/postgraduate level presentations. No formal background in physics is required.

Application Procedure
To apply please send an email with your name, stage of education (pre/post first degree and year of course if applicable), school and/or university, phone number and email contact details as well as your title and an abstract for your talk (maximum of 150 words) to ioplecturecomp@gmail.com by the 5 March 2012. The number of places is limited and successful applicants will be informed within one week.

Judging Criteria
Lectures will be judged against the following criteria:

  • Clarity and accuracy of the entrant’s abstract.
  • Structure of the lecture, clarity of explanation and argument.
  • Suitability for the audience (neither assuming too much or too little knowledge)
  • General standard of presentation, clarity of diction, ability to deliver lecture spontaneously.
  • Ability to engage the audience
  • Personal enthusiasm for the subject
  • Clarity and relevance of any visual aids used.
  • Technical content of the presentation.
  • Timing (marks may be deducted for over-running of lecture time)
  • Ability to deliver a concise, meaningful summary at the end of main points.
  • Ability to handle judges’ questions.

These details are also available on the IOP Manchester and District branch calendar: www.iop.org/activity/branches/north_west/manchester/calendar/

Any questions please contact:
Dr Sarah Haigh; Lecturer in Materials Characterisation, University of Manchester, Materials Science Centre, Grosvenor Street, Manchester, M1 7HS, 0161 306 3618 ioplecturecomp@gmail.com