Waterloo.AI GRADflix

Waterloo.AI GRADflix Competition

It gives us great pleasure to announce the launch of Waterloo.AI GRADflix!

OVERVIEW:
The ‘AI GRADflix’ is an innovative twist on the University of Waterloo's Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA), where GRADflix is a research communication opportunity for graduate students through a video, moving slide show, or animation of 60 seconds (one minute) in length that describes their research. With our Waterloo.AI GRADflix in Artificial Intelligence, the Waterloo.AI aims to provide graduate students with a platform to use digital narrative to explain a complex idea, and develop your "elevator pitch" for industry partners.

Graduate student conducting research in the field of artificial intelligence. Students to pitch about their research in artificial intelligence from any faculty. The video should be 60 seconds long, and there are no restrictions on structure or form as we encourage students to innovatively present their research with the target audience is industry.

Competition Information

Eligibility

  • Graduate students registered full time in a master's or doctoral program who are conducting research under supervisors affiliated with the Artificial Intelligence Institute at the University of Waterloo.
  • Master's and PhD students who have degree completed, but have not yet convocated, are eligible to participate.
  • You must be willing to allow your video to be made public and provide a photo and short biography if you are selected as a finalist. Your photo and biography will also be made public. 
  • By submitting your video, you are agreeing that your submission is an original work created by you, and that you have all necessary rights in and to the submission. 

Video Requirements

  • Videos can take many forms, but must include: movement (slide transitions, zoom, or a subject moving on video), sound (voice over, sound, and/or music).
  • Your video may be less than 60 seconds, but may not be longer than 60 seconds.
  • Your video must be administered in English.
  • Your video must focus on research conducted for your thesis, MRP or dissertation in your current graduate program at University of Waterloo.
  • If your video is selected, you may be asked to submit a script for closed captioning purposes. If your video is selected and you advance to the next round of the competition, closed captioning will be required as the winning videos will be uploaded to YouTube.
  • When creating your video keep copyright in mind. As your video will be made available online, you need to make sure that you are using third party content properly. If you want to avoid copyright complications, take a look at the resources provided by the Univeristy of Waterloo's Copyright and Licensing Librarian, Lauren Byl.
  • Abstracts, oral descriptions, slides, pictures and videos can all constitute public disclosure and affect intellectual property rights and patentability. If this may be a concern, consult with your supervisor, the Office of Research or the Intellectual Property website for further information.
  • You also agree that this submission does not infringe upon or violate any laws or any third party rights, including, but not limited to, copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights and must not constitute material that would be considered libelling, defamatory, a privacy violation, tortious or a contract breach.

Awards

The five awards will be:

  • One 1st place: $2,000
  • One 2nd place: $1,250
  • One 3rd place: $750 
  • One 4th place: $500
  • One people's choice: $500

Judging Panel

The panel will consist of four representatives from Waterloo.AI Industry Partners.

Judging Criteria

  • 50% Communication
    • use of clear language and terminology; good pace  
    • appropriate use of images to complement message
    • contribution to research/scholarship is clear and understandable
    • logical sequence of information (i.e. easy to follow)
    • ability to explain complex ideas to a non-specialist audience
  • 30% Creativity and visual impact
    • creative use of (limited) time
    • information presented creatively 
    • well-designed images/script
    • visually appealing, engaging
  • 20% Technical quality 
    • high-quality sound and images
    • effective use of images and sound citations/credits where required

Submission details

The deadline to submit your video for this competition is July 26, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. EST.

Please ensure you are familiar with the following submission requirements and instructions: 

  1. Send the video (saved as an MP4) to waterlooai@uwaterloo.ca using Sendit. By submitting your video, you are agreeing that your submission is an original work created by you, and that you have all necessary rights in and to the submission. You also agree that this submission does not infringe upon or violate any laws or any third party rights, including, but not limited to, copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights and must not constitute material that would be considered libelling, defamatory, a privacy violation, tortious or a contract breach.
  2. In addition to your video, you must fill out and submit the Waterloo.AI GRADflix participant information form by the due date of July 26, 2021. The form will request you provide the following information: 
  • your preferred name (as you would like it written on the webpage if you are selected as a finalist)
  • your preferred pronouns
  • the name(s) of your supervisor(s)
  • a short biography of approximately 60-100 words - this may include past degrees, research areas or interests, current program, research labs, interests or hobbies outside of research, etc. and we also encourage you to add some fun facts about yourself (e.g. your pets, favorite food or music, etc.)
  • a good quality portrait or headshot photo
  • contact information to be listed with your video

If you have any questions about submission requirements, please email nichola.harrilall@uwaterloo.ca

Resources