They’re all topics of videos that took prizes at the first edition of the uOGRADflix competition, organized by the Office of the Vice-Provost, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
The competition aims to help graduate students popularize their work and develop the ability to communicate effectively with diverse audiences, showing originality and talent!
Competition participants skillfully met the challenge of explaining their research projects clearly and concisely (in one minute or less!). While highlighting the breadth of on-campus research, the competition celebrates graduate students’ accomplishments.
First uOGRADflix winners
First place: Galyna Vakulenko
Galyna Vakulenko, a biology master’s student, won the first edition of uOGRADflix. She is studying analgae that survives in the harsh conditions of Antarctica’s Lake Bonney, to better understand the effects of climate change on this region.
In addition to winning a cash prize of $1,000, Galyna Vakulenko will represent uOttawa at a provincial competition next spring.
Second place and people’s choice award: Sitara Sharma
Sitara Sharma, a second year master of human kinetics student, took second place as well as the peoples’ choice award. Her research examines the role of physical activity in reducing cancer-related cognitive impairment and subsequently improving young survivors’ quality of life.
Sitara Sharma received two cash prizes, one of $750 and the other of $500.
Third place: Catherine Potter
Catherine Potter, a Saint Paul University counselling and spirituality master’s student, took third place. Her research studied the DREAM program, an eight-week summer camp, to determine whether the children’s experience helped improve their resilience and mitigate the deterioration of their mental health during the pandemic.
She won a cash prize of $500.
See the winners’ and finalists’ videos. There are 25 of them, but it’ll take you less than 25 minutes to watch them all!