The campaign to promote the standard of research in Ireland – called #LoveIrishResearch – has just ratcheted up a notch with the launch of a Twitter photo competition.
Asking Irish researchers to submit an image of their work, as well as why they love what they do, the Irish Research Council-run initiative is basically trying to promote what researchers do through as many channels as possible.
The current competition is open to all researchers based in eligible higher education institutions and research performing organisations in Ireland, with a closing date of 17 February, at 5pm.
#LoveIrishResearch: The rules
To enter you just submit a picture of your work (nobody else’s), with @IrishResearch and #LoveIrishResearch in the tweet, explaining why you love what you do.
One thing of note, though, is that the pictures submitted can’t have won any photography awards already.
“The winning entry will be the image and corresponding description that is judged to be the most visually appealing, original and self-explanatory,” reads the rule book.
“The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into.”
Early entries, some of which have not followed the rules, it seems, include:
@IrishResearch #LoveIrishResearch #PhotoComp #mcellandbacteria @Pharmabiotic #apcmicrobiome #ucc pic.twitter.com/0LhZOGwyT7
— John Mac Sharry (@johnmacsharry) February 12, 2016
@IrishResearch #LoveIrishResearch #Researchthroughalens #photocomp #Makingplans pic.twitter.com/cU0oycZCgv
— NICB DCU (@nicb_dcu) February 12, 2016
#PhotoComp Research Through a Lens:#winaprize #LoveIrishResearch. Listening to fish to protect them! pic.twitter.com/DcR72ZPJem
— Marta Bolgan (@MartaBolgan) February 11, 2016
I #LoveIrishResearch because it leads to new enzymes for world sustainability #activeenzyme #photocomp #WomenInSTEM pic.twitter.com/JPYUgTDOHv
— Kelly Dwyer (@KellyDwyer7) February 11, 2016
Why I #LoveIrishResearch: because it lets us see things we could not see before #photocomp pic.twitter.com/OZw4R8DUL1
— William Lackington (@willatrcsi) February 11, 2016
#LoveIrishResearch: Ireland’s great
As we noted upon the launch of #LoveIrishResearch, 11 Irish researchers are listed among the top 1pc of researchers currently practising worldwide. Considering our population, that figure seems remarkable.
Additionally, as a nation, we have most recently placed ninth in the Thomson-Reuters InCites global scientific rankings, while in the fields of nanoscience, nanotechnology, immunology, computer sciences, and neurosciences and behaviour we rank in the top five.
Main image via Shutterstock