Under the Coverslip

• Background    

  The competition began within the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience as an informal exhibition of interesting images taken by students throughout their research. Over the years, it has grown in size to include entries from all research students in any Australian university or research institute.

• Competition Purpose    

  The images presented in this event are intended to not only be aesthetically pleasing but to engage with the public and inform them of the ground breaking scientific research being conducted within the Parkville Precinct and throughout Victoria. By presenting scientific data in this informal manner, we hope to not only celebrate our work as scientists but spark interest and debate in scientific methods and breakthroughs from the larger non-scientific community.

• The Award Ceremony       

Given the current times, this year’s competition will be held in a different format. Image entries will be exhibited prior to the awards ceremony through an online gallery, open from Friday October 23^rd, to all contestants and the general public. The awards ceremony will be held from 4 till 5 pm on Thursday 29^th October via a webinar. The links for both the online gallery and webinar, will soon be available. The ceremony will commence with a panel discussion featuring some experts from the University of Melbourne, including Jenny Wilkinson-Berka (Head of School of Biomedical Sciences), Rohan Long (Curator of Harry Brookes Allen Museum of Anatomy and Pathology) and Rose Hiscock (Director of Museums and Collections), after which the prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places along with Best Title, People's Choice and Best 3D video/model, will be announced.

• Competition Rules    
  1. Entries are open to all Postgraduate, Masters and Honours students only
  2. All types of microscopy and scientifically generated images may be entered
  3. Maximum two entries per contestant
  4. Submissions may have been taken in previous years, though must not have been submitted to a previous competition
  5. No modifications to images allowed except for false colouring (e.g. turning green to red or blue to pink), cropping and adjusting gain
  6. No metadata (scale bars, text etc) on the image
  7. Creative titles are encouraged (we are trying to engage the public and scientists from different fields, and you can win a prize!). Include a brief layman’s description of the image, its importance and how the image was captured (~100 words)

  Note:

  1.  Entries must be submitted via the online form. The deadline for submissions is October 23rd

  2. Under the Coverslip is a game of skill. Entries will be judged by a panel of judges to award prizes for Best video/3D image, 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place. People’s choice and Best Title are won by popular vote from people viewing the online event. Organiser’s Choice is judged by the SONA committee

  3. By submitting images to Under the Coverslip, you give permission for SONA to share, print and distribute them

  4. Winners’ names, winning microscopic images, and institution of study will be announced at the online event, shared on SONA’s social media channels, potentially published in Farrago and Cosmos magazine and shared in an email following the event to people in the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience at the University of Melbourne

  5. The prizes for 2020 are as follows:
  First Prize - Olympus Camera & $300
  Second Prize - $400
  Third Prize - $300
  People's Choice - $100
  Best Title - $100
  Best video/3D image (*NEW CATEGORY) - $100
• Submit Your Entry    

  Please submit your entries here.

  Submissions close Friday 16th October 2020.