Pancyprian essay contest for World DNA Day 2024

Medicover Genetics Cyprus is organising the second Pancyprian essay contest for World DNA Day 2024, inviting all high school students (public and private) and Technical Schools (16-19 years old) to participate by writing an essay.

The contest, supported by the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth of Cyprus, is dedicated to World DNA Day and celebrated on 25 April. The first and second-best entries will win a prize award.

The scope of this initiative is to raise awareness about understanding the importance of DNA, how the information that lies in DNA can cause inherited diseases to develop, and the significance of genetic testing and diagnosis.

The title of the essay is “Family history is one of the most important risk factors for common genetic diseases. What is the role of DNA in the inheritance of such diseases?”. The World DNA Day essay competition requires the generation of an essay in the format of a blog. Entries are encouraged to give specific examples to describe the topic with clarity and to avoid using complex scientific language, as the blog will be addressed directly to the general public who might not have a scientific background. The use of images to support the blog is also encouraged.

The Awards

Medicover Genetics will offer a prize award to the first and second-best entries. The winners will be announced on its website on 25 April 2024. The prize for the first and second place will be €200 and €100 respectively. Additionally, the two students will have the opportunity to visit the company’s state-of-the-art laboratories in Nicosia. All the participating schools will receive an announcement of the winners on 24 April 2024.

Marking and evaluation criteria

All the entries will be marked and evaluated by a group of experts in the field of Genetics from Medicover Genetics. The marking criteria will be based on different aspects including:

1) The accuracy and validity of the information used (the use of references is strongly encouraged).

2) The knowledge and understanding of the topic.

3) The structure of the blog, the presentation of the topic as well as the correct technical vocabulary, grammar, and syntaxis.

Participation Guidelines

1) The entries must be in pdf format, with a maximum of 650-700 words (excluding references). The student must state in the pdf file their full name as well as the name of the school.

2) The entries must be submitted to the following email through the Biology teachers:

scientificcommunications-cy@medicover.com

3) The final date of submission is the 10 April 2024.

4) Each essay must be written by one student.

5) The language of participation is Greek or English.

Note: By participating in the competition, the participants provide the rights to display and publicise the essays or part of them. All valid entries may be used at a later stage on the social media or/and website of Medicover Genetics.

For more information and further enquiries, participants can send an email at: scientificcommunications-cy@medicover.com or contact 22 266 888 (Medicover Genetics reception desk, asking to connect with the Marketing and Communications Department).