Kishore Vishwanathan takes third place in Sweden's largest presentation competition for researchers at Vasateatern in Stockholm.
Explaining one's research effectively, interestingly, and entertainingly in just four minutes - a challenging task for most, but exactly the discipline which Forskar Grand Prix competition annually decides a Swedish champion of.
Over 300 people were in the audience at Vasateatern and almost as many in front of the video stream on Thursday, where six winners from local competitions around the country competed to become the Swedish champion in presenting their research.
Kishore Vishwanathan, a postdoctoral researcher at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Umeå, secured his spot in the final by winning his local heat earlier this fall. The topic? How the symbiotic relationship between feather mosses and cyanobacteria in forest soil can be likened to our very human dating market.
– It's a very big event, which I didn't know when I signed up. When I see how everything is unfolding, I feel a bit stressed, Kishore Vishwanathan said before the final in Stockholm.
But once on stage, Kishore found his true element. After the jury's scores (3, 3, and 4 on a five-point scale from the three jury members) and the audience votes, the host Fritte Fritzon could reveal that the SLU researcher had taken third place in the competition. But there are more takeaways from the experience than a bronze medal.
– Participating in Forskar Grand Prix was a special experience. I was very nervous before, but now I feel so relieved and happy, he says.
The competition was won by Sofie Mohlin at Lund University, who talked about how her research on chicken embryos can help understand cancer in children. Second place went to Johanna Mayer at the Karolinska Institute with her presentation on Alzheimer's research.
Now Kishore Vishwanathan and the others can relax after nervousness and tension. But more researchers should muster the courage to participate in this and similar competitions, says Kishore.
– I think it's important that we researchers participate in such activities. In the end, the purpose of all research is to reach the public, he says.
The comedian and "På spåret" winner Fritte Fritzon hosted the final. The competitors, from left: Emelie Crafoord, Luleå Technical University, Johanna Mayer, Karolinska Institutet, Kishore Vishwanathan, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Charlotte Sylvander, Halmstad University, Karin Bergman Rimbe, Mälardalen University, and Sofie Mohlin, Lund University.
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Forskar Grand Prix is Sweden's largest competition in presentation skills for researchers. The final has been organized since 2012 by the association Vetenskap & Allmänhet in collaboration with the research councils Formas, Forte, Vinnova, and the Swedish Research Council.