Announcing the winners of the 2026 Short Talks, Big Impacts competition

On March 11, OWSD held the exhilarating finale competition of its Short Talks, Big Impacts competition, a live event where 12 OWSD members presented their diverse research in a dynamic 3-minute format. The competition was designed to emphasize the importance for scientists of effective presentation and communications skills, and especially of how to highlight the contribution their research makes to solving local and global challenges. Three winners were selected from 12 finalists, who were selected by audience member vote or selection by the OWSD Secretariat during four previous regional competitions in Africa (February 18), Latin America & the Caribbean (February 25), Asia-Pacific (March 3), and the Arab region (March 4).   

"By making the time limit for this competition just 3 minutes, what we really are trying to do is make you think about what is really important to communicate about your research," said Erin Johnson, who chaired the finale competition for the OWSD Secretariat. "Not the details that you might present to other scientists at a conference but the big picture and why should other people care." 

All of OWSD's more than 12,000 members were invited to submit their interest in participating in the regional sessions. Up to 14 participants were selected for each session, where they each had the chance to convince the audience in 3 minutes why their research is impactful. At the conclusion of each regional session, the audience voted for their favorite presentations to determine the finalists who would go on to compete in the finale.

The winners of each regional session were:

Africa region

• First place: Bernadette Jani, Zimbabwe
• Second place: Louisa Muparuri, Zimbabwe
• Third place: Pamela Chogo, Tanzania

Latin America & Caribbean region

• First place: Paola Alvizuri, Bolivia (also a 2023 OWSD Early Career fellow)
• Second place: Violeta Martinez, El Salvador (also a 2023 OWSD Early Career fellow)
• Third place: Ingrid Ubeda Trujillo, Nicaragua

Asia-Pacific

• First place: Sadaf Ahmed, Pakistan
• Second place: Tahmina Foyez, Bangladesh (also a 2024 OWSD Early Career fellow)
• Third place: Dulharie Wijeratne, Sri Lanka (also a 2020 OWSD Early Career fellow)

Arab region

• First place (tie): Dina Aboelsoued (Egypt); Zoubida Nemer (Algeria)
• Second place: Rawsan Othman Ali Rawshan, Iraq
• Third place: Maysa Gaidoum Ahmed Gaidoum, Sudan

The regional sessions were well attended, with more than 160 people viewing the Africa session, 130 in Latin America & Caribbean, more than 100 in the Asia-Pacific region, and 42 in the Arab region session. The big draw, however, was the global finale, with more than 1000 registered. The event reached its full 500-person capacity for the duration, with 687 viewers managing to participate throughout. The 12 finalists in the finale delivered engaging presentations on research topics ranging from the effects of stress during pregnancy on maternal health in Pakistan, to harnessing the functional properties of mushrooms for human health in Colombia, to improving access to and management of groundwater resources in Algeria. The winners were selected by a combination of judges' selection and audience voting. The judging panel was made up by OWSD partners in UNESCO and TWAS, the World Academy of Sciences as well as several members of the SIS (scientific and innovation system of Friuli venezia Fiulia) FVG network:  

• (Jury Chair) Luisa Fernanda Echeverría‑King, OWSD President and Head of International Scientific Cooperation at Universidad Simón Bolívar, Colombia
• Gianna Cadei, Head of the Communication Office at AREA Science Park, Trieste, Italy
• Stefano Fantoni, Former Director of SISSA and past President of ANVUR - Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of the University and Research Systems
• Lora Gailly, Associate Project Officer at UNESCO’s Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Section
• Giovanni Ortolani, Public Information Officer, the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS)
• Franco Scolari, CEO, Polo Tecnologico Alto Adriatico, Pordenone Technology Park
• Laura Zanin, Associate Professor of Plant Biochemistry and Nutrition, University of Udine

Michela Giarle, Head of Office for Strategic Projects and European and International collaborations in Research and Innovation of the Specialised Operational Unit (UOS) for Research, Innovation, European Social Fund Plus and other EU Funds for the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, where the OWSD Secretariat is based, also spoke during the introduction to the event: "Platforms like this—empowering women scientists and highlighting the impact of their research on local and global challenges—remind us that even small places can contribute to big ideas and meaningful change."

In addition to the top two winners of each regional session, OWSD also selected four additional presenters to compete in the finale. The following 12 OWSD members presented their research on a wide variety of diverse topics:

• Bernadette Jani, Zimbabwe: Climate-Informed and Climate-Responsive Occupational Risk Assessment System in Agriculture and Mining
• Ingrid Ubeda Trujillo, Nicaragua: Mitigation strategies to minimize agricultural flash drought effects
• Chandramalar Kanthavelu, Malaysia: Empowering Young Women Through Theory-Driven Digital Menstrual Health Education: Evidence from a Cluster Randomised Trial
• Louisa Muparuri, Zimbabwe: AI for Exam Question Development
• Xiomara Lopez Legarda, Colombia: From Fungi to Function: Biotechnological Polysaccharides for Human Health
• Dina Aboelsoued, Egypt: From Calves to Children: Breaking the Cryptosporidium Cycle in Egypt
• Tahmina Foyez, Bangladesh: Bioactive hydrogel: a multifunctional therapeutic platform rapid wound repair
• Violeta Martinez, El Salvador: Occurrence of emerging contaminants in Salvadoran surface and tap water sources
• Zoubida Nemer, Algeria: Beneath Our Feet: Securing Water in a Changing Climate
• Paola Alvizuri Tintaya, Bolivia: Water Treatment Technology: Reimagining Waste, Restoring Water, Sustaining Life
• Pamela Chogo, Tanzania: Enhancing Aflatoxin Knowledge Access through the Development of a Natural Language Processing Based Chatbot 
• Sadaf Ahmed, Pakistan: Two Brains Under Stress: Protecting Mother and Fetus Before Birth
   

After a deliberation following the presentations, the judges selected Paola Alvizuri Tintaya from Bolivia as their winner, for her presentation on Water Treatment Technology: Reimagining Waste, Restoring Water, Sustaining Life.

During the judges' deliberation, the audience also voted for their top three presenters. The top three as selected by the audience were:

1. Pamela Chogo (Tanzania), for her presentation on Enhancing Aflatoxin Knowledge Access through the Development of a Natural Language Processing Based Chatbot.
2. Paola Alvizuri Tintaya (Bolivia), for her presentation on RWater Treatment Technology: Reimagining Waste, Restoring Water, Sustaining Life.
3. Violeta Martinez (El Salvador), for her presentation on Occurrence of emerging contaminants in Salvadoran surface and tap water sources.

OWSD President Luisa Fernanda Echeverría‑King, Chair of the Jury, explained to Dr. Alvizuri the jury's motivation in their selection: "The effort, the clarity, to ability to synthesize this complex idea behind water, and also to see you in your natural environment with your colleagues was very important - and also the engagement that you managed within your presentation."

Giulia Signori from the OWSD Secretariat announced during the finale that all three winners will be supported by OWSD to attend a scientific conference of their choice. In addition, all 12 finalists are invited to submit proposals for pilot projects in science communications within communities, with the aim of generating knowledge, visibility or engagement opportunities for OWSD National Chapters in each region.  

OWSD congratulates all the winners and thanks all the participants who took part in the competition. 

Watch the full finale competition below. All regional competitions are also available to view on YouTube.

To learn about last year's winners, see here.