In cooperation with

Science and Technology in Society forum, Kyoto

MEET THE BEST SCIENTISTS IN THE WORLD

WHAT IS FALLING WALLS?

• The Falling Walls Foundation is a non-profit organisation based in Berlin that is dedicated to the support of science and the humanities.

• Each year on 9 November, the day of the fall of the Berlin Wall, we organise the inter-national Falling Walls Conference. 20 top scientists from prestigious international research institutions present their latest breakthroughs in science, the humanities, industry and technology – in 15 minutes each. 700 guests from 80 nations participate.

FALLING WALLS AT SCHOOL

is a competition for students organised by the Falling Walls Foundation in cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund - WWF. It aims at getting students at school involved in ground-breaking science and research.

BE WHERE THE FUTURE HAPPENS!

You are interested in science? You want to know how science will shape our future? Get your schoolmate and pick one of the four selected scientists and their topic out of the programme of this year’s Falling Walls Conference 2015. Write, film or draw, how and why you think this topic will shape your future and include 3 questions you want to ask the scientist.

WHO CAN APPLY?

Teams of 2 students from German 10th grade (or equivalent) onwards accompanied by a teacher.

HOW TO APPLY?

All information concerning the application can be found at www.falling-walls.com/school.

Download the information, fill it in and send us your full application by post or via email to school@falling-wall.com.

Deadline for your submission is 2 October 2015 (by post according to postmark). WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

The members of the winning team and the accompanying teacher receive a ticket each to the Falling Walls Conference on 9 November 2015, 9 am - 7 pm at the Radialsystem in Berlin. (Travel costs are not included). CONTACT

Falling Walls Foundation Chausseestraße 8e 10115 Berlin Tel.: +49 30 60 988 39-74 Email: school@falling-walls.com

APPLY NOW EMMANUELLE CHARPENTIER Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Germany

DNA-COPY & PASTE How human genes can be edited using a bacterial defence system and why this is revolutionizing medicine and biotechnology.

PICK A SPEAKER & A TOPIC AND WIN A TICKET TO THE FALLING WALLS CONFERENCE 2015

SADIE CREESE University of Oxford, United Kingdom

CYBER SECURITY How we can protect computer networks and the systems that are vital to our society against hacker attacks and other security risks.

ANDREA ACCOMAZZO European Space Agency, Germany

COMET HUNTER How the Rosetta probe captured a comet after a ten-year journey through space and managed the first comet landing in history.

DEMIS HASSABIS Google DeepMind, United Kingdom

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE How algorithms are becoming super intelligent by playing old video games and what we can learn from this about the human brain.

 

FALLING WALLS AT SCHOOL 2015

The Shortlist of Speakers of the Falling Walls Conference 2015   ANDREA ACCOMAZZO European Space Agency, Germany COMET HUNTER At 4.30 pm on 12 November 2014, the washing-machine-sized ‘Philae’ module landed on comet 67P after a flight lasting 10 years and covering 6.4 billion km. This was the first time a spacecraft had landed on a comet and was the highlight of the Rosetta mission, whose ten-member team was led by the Italian Andrea Accomazzo. The data that the spacecraft transmits to Earth could provide a unique insight into the origins of our solar system because comets have hardly changed at all in 4.6 billion years and are therefore among the oldest and one of the earliest celestial bodies in the universe. http://bit.ly/1JMVCd7 EMMANUELLE CHARPENTIER Helmholtz Centre for Infection Biology, Germany DNA-COPY & PASTE

Born in France, she is currently one of the most important scientists in the world and is considered a prime candidate for the Nobel Prize. The biologist discovered a bacterial mechanism called CRISPR/Cas9 through which DNA strands are cut and repaired as though with scissors. In the future, we may be able to better treat even hereditary or chronic diseases such as AIDS or cancer by cutting out and replacing specific faulty DNA sections. Scientists and doctors all over the world are excited about the possibilities that this new ‘toolbox’ promises. http://bit.ly/1RP7dxN SADIE CREESE University of Oxford, United Kingdom CYBER SECURITY

Cyberspace is the nervous system of our world that links us all together. But it also makes us dependent on each other. Most people conscientiously lock their cars and front doors but don’t know how to protect themselves online. The incredible amount of information that we generate and the complexity of our digital systems pose ever greater challenges. We need to better protect the infrastructures that make our everyday lives possible, which are increasingly controlled digitally. The British professor Sadie Creese is researching these problems and is developing solutions to protect individuals, networks and the vast electronic systems that our society cannot do without. http://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/sadie.creese/

 

DEMIS HASSABIS Google DeepMind, United Kingdom ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Demis Hassabis is a chess master, a video game developer, a neuroscientist and the founder of the company DeepMind, which has set itself the goal of decoding the mystery of intelligence. Using findings from brain research, Hassabis and his team of researchers are developing computer programs that can learn intelligently and adapt to different environments. For example, they have developed a program that can understand and play old video games to the end and often outperform the best human players. The aim of DeepMind is to create artificial ‘all-round intelligences’ that could help humanity solve its most difficult problems. http://demishassabis.com  

 

FALLIN G WALLS AT SCHOOL 2015

Application form Please fill out and return to:

Lucie Menz Falling Walls Foundation Chausseestraße 8e 10115 Berlin

Phone: +49 30 60 988 39 74 Fax: +49 30 60 988 39 79 Email: school@falling-walls.com 1) School contact details School name: _________________________________________________________________ Type of School: _________________________________________________________________ Full address: _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________

Email: _________________________________________________________________ Phone: _________________________________________________________________ Fax: _________________________________________________________________ 2) Teacher contact details Mr Ms

First name: _________________________________________________________________ Last name: _________________________________________________________________ Phone: _________________________________________________________________ Email: _________________________________________________________________ Teaching subject: _________________________________________________________________

 

3) Contact details of partic ipating students

Student 1

First name: ___________________________________________________________________ Last name: ___________________________________________________________________ Full address: ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________ Email: ___________________________________________________________________ Phone: ___________________________________________________________________

Age: ______ Student 2

First name: ___________________________________________________________________

Last name: ___________________________________________________________________

Full address: ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

Email: ___________________________________________________________________

Phone: ___________________________________________________________________

Age: ______ Chosen Falling Walls Conference speaker 2015 and topic: _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ Three questions you would like to ask the selected speaker: _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

 

_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

N.B. The Falling Walls Foundation will not bear any travel or accommodation expenses.

Data protection The Falling Walls Foundation recognises that personal information is confidential and that under no circumstances will disclose the information provided to any third parties except where legally required to do so. The Falling Walls Foundation collects certain types of information about people with whom it deals in order to operate and communicate. D isclaimer of liability All activities conducted within the context of this competition lie within the participant’s own responsibility. The organiser does not accept liability for any loss or damage of the submitted paper work. Copyright By registering, the participant consents to the publication of names, submitted material and any photos taken on the occasion of the event. This includes an announcement on the website of the Falling Walls Foundation as well as other external publications (e.g. newsletters, press article). ___________________________________________ __________________ Signature teacher Date ___________________________________________ __________________ Signature parent/legal guardian (student 1) Date ___________________________________________ __________________ Signature parent/legal guardian (student 2) Date