Tell It Straight Final 2023
Tell It Straight finalists with Professor Joseph Stokes, Dean of Graduate Studies, DCU

Tell It Straight

DCU's Postgraduate Research Communications Competition

2023 marked the tenth year of DCU's Tell It Straight communications competition, a flagship event for DCU research students. Hosted annually by the Graduate Studies Office, this exciting postgraduate research competition cultivates students’ academic, presentation and research communication skills. The competition supports their capacity to effectively explain their research in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.

 

Tell It Straight Final 2023
The Final 2023
Tell It Straight Finalists 2023
Finalists presenting their research at Tell It Straight 2023

Pictured: Roberta Angioi, Christiana-Kondylo Sideri, Tam Nguyen, Dalal Alsultan, Aoife Drury, Myra Castel, Meabh Kennedy, Lughan Odlum Deane, Valerie Lewis, Prof Joseph Stokes, Aideen Scriney, Seamus Cummins, Orla McGovern, Jack Campbell, Avril Deegan and Osatohanmwen Idelegbagbon

Further information on the event

 

Category 1:  Oral Presentations (Year-1 only)

1.  Jack Campbell, DCU Business School

2.  Orla McGovern, School of Psychology

3.  Osatohanmwen Idelegbagbon, School of Biotechnology

4.  Tam Nguyen, DCU Business School

5.  Valerie Lewis, Institute of Education

 

Category 2:  Oral Presentations (Year-2 onwards)

1.  Aoife Drury, School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health

2.  Meabh Kennedy, School of Chemical Sciences

3.  Myra Castel, School of Biotechnology

4.  Roberta Angioi, School of Chemical Sciences

5.  Seamus Cummins, School of Physical Sciences

 

Category 3:  Video Presentations (All Years)

1.  Aideen Scriney, School of Psychology

2.  Avril Deegan, School of Psychology

3.  Christiana-Kondylo Sideri, School of Biotechnology

4.  Dalal Alsultan, School of Biotechnology

5.  Lughan Odlum Deane, School of Communications

 

2023 Winners & Runners-Up
Winners & Runners-Up 2023
Tell It Straight WinnersRunnersUp

 

Congratulations to the Tell It Straight 2023 Winners & Runners-Up!

Pictured: Meabh Kennedy, Myra Castel, Dalal Alsultan, Prof Joseph Stokes, Osatohanmwen Idelegbagbon, Orla McGovern, Avril Deegan

Further information on the event.

 

Category 1:  Oral Presentations (Year-1 only)

Winner: Orla McGovern, School of Psychology

‘“Asking the Algorithm”: Understanding the Help-seeking Behaviours of Young People on TikTok – A Mixed Methods Co-design Approach to Optimise Mental Health and Wellbeing’
Supervisors: Dr Darragh McCashin and Prof Pamela Gallagher

Runner-Up: Osatohanmwen Idelegbagbon, School of Biotechnology

‘Next generation on-site biomonitoring for conservation management: coupling environmental DNA with CRISPR-Cas based technology’
Supervisor: Prof Anne Parle-McDermott

 

Category 2:  Oral Presentations (Year-2 onwards)

Winner: Meabh KennedySchool of Chemical Sciences

‘Mechanobactericidal surfaces that target antimicrobial resistant bacteria; the key influencing factors for maximum antimicrobial activity (MechanoBac)’
Supervisor: Dr Susan Kelleher

Runner-Up: Myra Castel, School of Biotechnology

‘New indications and novel combinations for neratinib in non-breast, HER-driven cancers’
Supervisors: Dr Denis Collins, Prof John Crown (SVUH), Dr Neil Conlon and Dr Naomi Walsh

 

Category 3:  Video Presentations (All Years)

Winner: Dalal Alsultan, School of Biotechnology

‘Tracking Tumour Evolution in HER2-positive Breast Cancer’
Supervisors: Dr Alex Eustace Dr Stephen Madden (RCSI)

Runner-Up: Avril Deegan, School of Psychology

‘A Longitudinal, Mixed Methods Study Investigating Resilience, Social Support and Quality of Life Amongst Childhood Leukaemia Survivors and their Parents’
Supervisors: Dr Simon Dunne, Prof Pamela Gallagher and Prof Veronica Lambert

 

Competition Details
Competition Details
The Competition

The Tell It Straight communications competition challenges research students to communicate their research - and its potential impact - to a non-specialist audience in a concise, dynamic and innovative way.

Finalists are assessed by an expert judging panel on the following criteria:

1. Content is suitable for a non-specialist audience. Avoidance of jargon. 

2. Good use of technology/visual aids.

3. Clear articulation of the value of the research.

4. A high standard of communication skills e.g. vocal mechanism such as pace, pitch, volume, vocal variety; and the message is effectively communicated to the audience.

5. Research methods and approach are clearly presented in an accessible manner to a non-specialist audience.

 

Competition Rules

The competition is open to registered research students in all years of study, however, finalists from the previous year's competition are excluded from entering.

Research students are permitted to enter abstracts for both the oral and the video category.

All abstracts will be assessed by an expert judging panel on the following criteria:

  • Suitability for a non–specialist audience.
  • Quality of the writing style.
  • Clear and meaningful message.
  • Clear articulation of the value of the research.

 

Contact

Linda Prosa, Graduate Skills Officer | linda.prosa@dcu.ie