Does your research break down barriers in some way? Are you helping to create positive outcomes for science and society?
If so, you might want to check out the Falling Walls competition. This is a global event inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989, with the question: Which walls will fall next? It is designed to uplift and celebrate student and early career researchers and innovators from any discipline who are working to (metaphorically) break down walls.
NZ entrants will give a 3-minute presentation detailing their barrier-breaking work. The winning presentation will represent Aotearoa and travel to the Falling Walls Lab Global Finale held in Berlin, Germany on 7 November, where they can meet some of the brightest thinkers in the world and compete to become the Breakthrough Winner of the Year in the Emerging Talents category of Falling Walls.
Former AUT doctoral student Ankita Poudyal (pictured below) previously won the Falling Walls Aotearoa competition, and went on to come 3rd in the world finals in Berlin! You can read about her experiences and her groundbreaking research on nano-coatings for air filters here on Thesislink.
The Aotearoa part of the competition is organised by the Royal Society. Check out their website for details of how to enter and be sure to get your entry in by noon on 31 May for the competition date of 11 September.
