Writing & Image Contests
How to contribute
If you want to take part in the writing or image contest, please indicate this during registration. You do not have to upload your entry when you register, but have until 3 September to complete it and send it to the organising team.
If you have already registered without entering a competition and would now like to submit a text or image, please contact the organising team (eureka.symposium@uni-wuerzburg.de).
Scientific Writing Contest
Your EUREKA! moment
Have you ever had that sudden flash of insight—the moment when everything clicked, and a new idea or discovery came to life? This year’s EUREKA! Scientific Writing Contest invites you to share your "EUREKA moment" in a creative and compelling essay.
We encourage all participants to reflect on their personal journey as scientists and write about a breakthrough, a turning point, or even a simple realization that shaped their research or perspective. Whether it's a technical discovery, a lesson learned the hard way, or a shift in how you view your scientific field—your story matters.
Your essay should not only resonate with fellow researchers but also be accessible to a broader audience without a scientific background. In previous years, winning entries have ranged from humorous anecdotes and eye-opening reflections to heartfelt accounts of challenges faced in academia. What they all had in common were their authenticity and ability to tell a story that connected science to the human experience behind it.
The goal is to craft a narrative that is insightful, touching, mind-boggling, entertaining—or all of the above. It’s your chance to show the world that science is more than just data and experiments—it's about curiosity, perseverance, and those unforgettable “EUREKA!” moments.
We look forward to reading your stories!
Please note!
- Contributions should not exceed 1 page/300 words.
- Articles must be in English (but can be originally written and translated from any other language).
- The essays should start with a title, followed by the author’s name and affiliation. Otherwise, any structure is acceptable.
- By participating in the contest, the authors agree that the text can be displayed at the GSLS homepage (copyrights are kept by the author).
Image Contest
Show Us the Beauty (and Chaos) of Science!
We’re calling on all EUREKA! 2025 participants to take part in this year’s Image Contest—a celebration of the stunning, strange, and sometimes downright messy visuals that life science research creates.
Whether it’s a beautifully colored microscopy image, a bizarre gel result, or an unintentionally artistic western blot, we want to see the images that tell a story from your lab bench. Scientific images can be more than just data—they can reveal hidden beauty, humor, or unexpected insight.
You don’t need to be a professional photographer—just share something unique from your work. It can be meaningful, mysterious, funny, or purely aesthetic. Every image has a story, and we want yours!
Let your science speak in pictures—submit your best (or worst!) lab shots!
Please note!
- Each picture should have a title and it is possible to add a short description (max. 50 words).
- It is allowed to make small changes to the original image (e.g. changing brightness/contrast or adding eyes or similar)
- Images have to be provided as png, tif, jpeg or pdf.
- By participating in the contest, the authors agree that the image can be displayed at the GSLS homepage (copyrights are kept by the author).
