Applications are being accepted through Friday, Oct. 5, for the University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research's inaugural 5-Minute Fast Track Research Competition. The goal of this competition is to improve students’ abilities to communicate their undergraduate research effectively to a general audience while creating a compelling story about their scholarly work.

Competitors will present their research in five minutes in front of a panel of five judges and a live audience only using one slide. This will challenge the competitors to fine tune their critical communication skills while also allowing them to showcase their research in a captivating way. 

"Honing one's communication skills can sometimes be dry and not very fun, especially when it comes to talking about research," said Evie Russell, assistant director of the Office of Undergraduate Research.  "We wanted to create a fun academic communication competition for undergraduates that would help them articulate their scholarly work to an intelligent audience with no background in the research area." 

UK undergraduate students who have completed two full terms of faculty mentored research or who have completed a creative activity in any major are eligible to compete in the competition. There are 40 registration slots available. All slots are first come, first served. 

The Office of Undergraduate Research hopes that students will step outside their comfort zone and challenge themselves by participating in the competition.

"The skills developed while preparing for this competition will aid students in future job interviews, networking at conferences, and even with conversations with family members and friends. Forcing participants to balance complexity and depth with clarity and concision, hones skills that will benefit our undergraduate students as they move toward professional careers," Russell said.

The competition will comprise two preliminary rounds — one Monday, Oct. 22, and the other Tuesday, Oct. 23. Students will be judged on communication, comprehension, content and engagement. The top five students from each preliminary round will advance to the final round Thursday, Nov. 1. All rounds will take place in the William T. Young Library Auditorium. 

Prizes include:

$750 for first place winner;

$500 for the second-place winner; and

$250 for the third-place winner.

All three rounds of the competition are open and free to the public. 

To apply to compete in the research competition visit: http://www.uky.edu/chellgren/undergraduate-research/5-minute-fast-track-competition.