Winners of the ‘Scientific Sprint’ Science Communication Competition Announced

To mark the 447th anniversary of Vilnius University (VU), the ‘Scientific Sprint’ competition was held for the fifth time. First place was awarded to the VU Life Sciences Center team ‘Neuronų vertėjai’ (‘Neuron Translators’) – PhD student Igoris Nagula and fourth-year Bachelor’s student Gabija Valentaitė – for their three-minute presentation ‘What Does the Electrical Language of Neurons Reveal About the Development of Brain Networks?’. The winning team received a €1,000 prize established by the event partner ‘Thermo Fisher Scientific’.

This was the team’s second time participating in the ‘Scientific Sprint’ – last year, they came second. ‘This year, we thought we had to take first place – we wanted to go all the way,’ said Igoris Nagula.

The team admitted that, despite this ambition, they did not actually expect to win but noted that lessons learnt from last year played an important role in their success. ‘When I was writing the text, I remembered the feedback we received last year and what we hadn’t done well. Our slides weren’t strong enough then, but this year we designed a more impactful presentation. We prepared more seriously, and in the end, it paid off,’ the PhD student explained.

According to both Igoris Nagula and Gabija Valentaitė, the most difficult part of the competition was managing stress. ‘Before going on stage, I could feel my palms starting to sweat and my heart beating faster,’ the Bachelor’s student admitted.

Second place went to the VU Faculty of Philology team ‘LengvAi’, consisting of Assoc. Prof. Laura Vilkaitė-Lozdienė and Aušrinė Tverskytė. They presented research on simplified Lithuanian – ‘How to Write Texts for Those Who Find Reading More Difficult?’. Third place was awarded to the VU Faculty of Philosophy team ‘Gerovės komanda’ (‘Well-being Team”), represented by Prof. Jurgita Lazauskaitė-Zabielskė and PhD student Rita Jakštienė, who delivered a presentation ‘Nobody Wants to Burn Out’. The second-place team received a €600 prize, while the third-place winners were awarded €400. These prizes were sponsored by the Sunrise Valley Science and Technology Park.

This year, eight selected teams took part in the contest, each consisting of a lecturer and a student. The teams were given three minutes to present their research project or idea. The presentations covered a wide range of topics – from drug‑related issues in Vilnius and discussions on whether cemeteries could become green urban spaces, to the development of a health-friendly product designed to address vitamin D and antioxidant deficiencies.

The participants were evaluated by a jury composed of Director of the Sunrise Valley Digital Innovation Hub Laima Balčiūnė, Junior Assistant at the VU Faculty of Medicine Eglė Stukaitė-Ruibienė, Production Manager at ‘Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics’ Artiomas Akatovas, Professor at the Institute of Psychology of the VU Faculty of Philosophy Antanas Kairys, and host at LRT Radio Karolina Panto. The jury assessed the relevance of the presentations, scientific accuracy, clarity, and the ability to communicate science in an engaging and accessible way.

A recording of the event is available here.