Sometimes in life we face some incidents which as though the universe has taken to surprise us. Like how we suddenly come across some stored away cash from inside an old book, or how we get to meet long-lost friends on the street. Just like that, FameLab 2018 was like a surprise from the universe to me, except that it was was way bigger than simply finding money inside a book. It gave me some best moments and experiences to remember forever. I was living my daily life, procrastinating for my mid-term exam which was on the following day, when suddenly I received a text from a good friend, Sihinta. She asked me to help her with a science topic for a competition called FameLab. When she explained the competition to me, it sounded so interesting, I decided to give it a go myself. It was the last day for application submission and I had only about two hours to complete the form. I went for it anyways, and that was when all the magic began.
Now moving fast-forward to the auditions. After I was done with the first round, I was quite confident that I would make it to the next one. What I never thought was that I would be the winner in the National Finals. Because all the other 11 finalists were very talented and passionate about science, and some of them were far more academically experienced, my only guess is that my chosen topic of neuro-plasticity got me closer to the finishing line. I became the winner of FameLab 2018 Bangladesh and went to the United Kingdom to represent Bangladesh at the FameLab International 2018.
I reached Cheltenham on the evening of 3 June 2018. Jetlagged from the long journey, I fell asleep as soon as I reached the hotel. I had a great exploring the Cheltenham city on the following day. The people I came across were very friendly and the weather was extremely nice. After lunch, we had a meet-and-greet session at the hotel with all the other finalists from across the world. We exchanged food, cultural experiences from our own countries, and our own career aspirations with each other. We were taken to a restaurant for dinner in the evening. To think that I was having dinner with 26 different people from 26 different countries, sitting at the same table! I never had this experience before. We laughed at jokes, raised our glasses to toast and had fun simply listening to each other. That was a very special night for me. The day following, we had our Masterclass with Malcolm Love. We learned about different presentation techniques from him and we cleared out many of our confusions. We did a few physical exercises to relax ourselves and to feel more open in our bodies. After the masterclass, we were taken to the Town Hall Centre, where the Cheltenham Science Festival was taking place. There were tents everywhere and each tent was a venue for something different. We had our lunch together at the VIP room. And then we explored the Festival.
On 6 June, we had the semifinals round. 27 participants were divided in three groups of nine members each. The selection of finalists for the International Final Round was comprised of best three participants from judges’ scores and one by audience vote from each group. My competitors were participants from Brazil, Portugal, Malta, Spain, Germany, Thailand, France and Bulgaria. Here too, I presented about my favourite topic Neuro-Plasticity, as I did in the national finals. This time, however, I conducted my presentation with a deeper knowledge and with a few changes to the original one. After our performances, the results were announced. The first name of the country was Portugal. The second name that followed was Bangladesh. I almost jumped up and down with joy!
The final round took place on 7 June. I, from Bangladesh, was one of the 12 finalists alongside those from the UK, Germany, Malaysia, Australia, Cyprus, Hungary, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, Romania and Qatar. My final round presentation was on the connection between music and brain. I honestly felt I could’ve done better, but it was a good shot. The other presentations were brilliantly done. After the final round the results were declared. The contestant from Malaysia was the finale winner, with Australia and Germany as runners-up. Romania won the audience vote. It was amazing. We all group-hugged and took endless pictures together, congratulating the winners for their well-deserved titles. We were relieved, and a little sad, that the ordeal was finally over. That night, a party was thrown for us. We danced, jumped, and laughed together. It was one of the best nights I could ever have in my life.
FameLab 2018 was the best learning experience for me too. I met so many talented people there. Most importantly, I learned more about myself, about where I need to improve and what I am already good at. I came back to Bangladesh with fresh ideas about my career. After my graduation, I plan to go to abroad for my masters and I am also thinking of starting a Science-Communication series through YouTube and vblogging with my friend.
If I am asked to say one thing that I learned from this journey, I would say that there is no limit to learning. FameLab has changed my life and I’m very grateful towards the British Council for this opportunity.
