MRF 2024 Festive Science Image Competition

The Medical Research Foundation needs your help to create our 2024 Season’s Greetings Card! Can you combine a science image with a festive theme, for the chance to win £500?

The Medical Research Foundation and the Medical Research Council’s Festive Science Image Competition is now in its third year! We had some excellent entries in 2023, and you can view the winners here.

Once again, the aim of this competition is to give members of the medical research community an opportunity to play a role in designing the Foundation and MRC’s joint Season’s Greetings Card for 2024.

We are asking entrants to produce a design which combines scientific imagery with a festive theme, alongside a title and description written for a non-scientific audience, to display their science communication skills and creativity. The winner will be awarded a prize of up to £500 and have their image seen by numerous senior stakeholders across the medical research community.

This competition is open to all Foundation and MRC-funded researchers, staff and students.

Deadline for Submission is 12:00pm on Friday 8 November 2024.

Who can enter?

You are eligible to submit an image if you are:

• a Foundation or MRC-funded researcher (including studentships, fellowships, research grant-holders), technicians and support staff
• Foundation or MRC Head Office staff
• MRC unit, centre, or institute staff

What we’re looking for

Your image should have direct relevance to medical research and it must be festive! We are keen for creative submissions produced using a wide variety of media; your image could be a digital design, drawing, painting or a photograph. It could also be a digital image produced by microscopy or imaging equipment.

We encourage creativity when relating your image to the festive theme. Your image could be aesthetically linked for example, a bacterial culture which resembles a snowflake or thematically linked, for example, depicting a concept related to the idea of gift giving.

Please provide an image title (maximum of 100 characters, without spaces) and short description (maximum of 100 words) written for a non-scientific audience, explaining:

• What the image shows
• How it relates to medical research
• How it relates to the festive period
• How it was created

How your image will be assessed

Submitted images will be assessed anonymously and names/affiliations won’t be shared until a winner is decided. A panel of judges with a science, medical research, communications and public engagement background will select a winner and any highly commended entries.

The Panel will assess the images using the following criteria:

• Aesthetics: the image needs to be eye-catching and visually appealing.
• Image quality: the image needs to be of a high quality, in order to be reproduced on the greetings card.
• Festivity: the image needs to be related to festive imagery or share a thematic link with how people celebrate during the festive period. We welcome submissions from members of the research community from all backgrounds depicting what ‘festivity’ means to you.
• Communication: the image description needs to clearly explain the research or science in a way that is easily understood by a non-scientific audience. There is no expectation for the image description to be festive.

The Prize

The Foundation will award the winning entrant a cash prize of up to £500. The winning image will feature on the Foundation and MRC’s 2024 Season’s Greetings Card, which is sent to over 1,000 key stakeholders across the research community, as well as the Foundation’s supporters, to thank them for their efforts and support during the year. The card is also shared via Foundation and MRC social media channels.

How to enter

Please ensure you only submit one image. It should meet the following criteria:

• Still image, in JPG, PNG or HEIC/HEIF format
• Image resolution: at least 300dpi
• Uploaded ahead of the deadline via WeTransfer: https://wetransfer.com (Email to: press.team@medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk)
• Labelled clearly in the WeTransfer title/file name with your full name, job title and institution.
• Submitted with your title/description in the WeTransfer ‘Message’ box.

Deadline for Submission is 12:00pm on Friday 8 November 2024.

We are committed to making this competition accessible to all, by offering assistance where needed. Please contact press.team@medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk if you have any questions or concerns about the entry process or would like assistance.

Download the 2024 Competition Guidance PDF.

Please be aware that your image will be viewed by the judging panel, used on the 2024 Season’s Greetings Card, and may also be shared on Foundation/MRC social media channels.

Full copyright is retained by the creator of any entry, and wherever the winning image is used, it will be credited to the entrant.