Two FABI PhD candidates are among 17 young science communicators from South African universities who will compete for a place in the FameLab International Finals scheduled for October. Johannes Christoff Joubert and Josephine Queffelec were announced winner and runner-up respectively at the FameLab heats hosted by FABI at the University of Pretoria on 5 February. FABI hosted the contest, with a special focus on plant health, in celebration of 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health. Thirty postgraduate students at the Institute participated in a science communication workshop preceding the heats.

The FameLab SA finals will be held at a future date ahead of the international contest scheduled for October. Thirty nations around the world participate in FameLab International, which gives students and researchers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics between the ages of 21 and 35 a transnational platform to cast the spotlight on their research. The aim is for the contestants to talk creatively about their research to a lay audience in just three minutes. PhD candidate Darryl Herron was a FameLab SA finalist in 2018.