"We are looking for people who have scientific stars in their eyes, people who can present an entertaining, original and exciting talk that is scientifically accurate but appealing to a non-scientific audience". Kathy Sykes, Cheltenham Science Festival, UK

We are pleased to announce the winners of the FameLab Final that took place on 11 April 2008 at the Park Inn Hotel!

Aziz Shahhuseynov, a student from Azerbaijan Economical University, won the first prize for his exciting presentation devoted to “Voice and its reflection”, and attended the Cheltenham Science Festival 2008 in the UK. His prize was a Toshiba notebook from Bank Standard. Aziz also won the Audience Award – an English course at the Qafqaz University.

The first runner-up is Emina Khudakishiyeva, a student at Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University from Chemistry-biology faculty. Her presentation was devoted to Pressure in liquids

The second runner-up is Rubaba Guliyeva, a student from Baku State University from Applied Mathematics and cybernetics faculty. Her presentation was devoted to Root of energy.         

All ten finalists received a weekend masterclass in science communication provided by British Science Communication Consultant, Sanjida O’Connell. They also received nano i-pods from Bank Standard.

We would like to congratulate our winners and wish them further success in their careers as science communicators!   

FameLab is an initiative of the Cheltenham Science Festival in the UK and this is the second year the contest is going international in nine countries in South-East Europe through the British Council network. The aim of FameLab is to encourage young scientists (18 to 35 years old) to inspire and excite public imagination with a vision of science in the 21st century.

The competition is searching for the new faces of Science who will be able to develop their ideas and presentation skills for a TV audience. The model is familiar from TV programmes like Pop Idol and Folk Star – you have just three minutes to prove yourself to a panel of expert judges, with only the best going forward to the next round, and the talk should be entertaining and original, scientifically accurate but also engaging to a non-scientific audience.

The FameLab competitions were held in March 2008. All nine winners from South East Europe will attend the Cheltenham Science Festival 2008 in the UK.

Azerbaijan FameLab was organised in partnership with Qafqaz University, and with the support of the Bank Standard. Our media partner is Public TV.