GRADflix Rules and Requirements

Eligibility Criteria and Contest Rules

• To participate in GRADflix, you must currently be registered in a Master’s (Thesis or Master’s Research Project/Paper) or PhD program at Carleton.
• Students registered in degree programs that are strictly course-based are not eligible.
• Students that have successfully defended their thesis, but have not yet graduated are eligible.
• You must consent to have your GRADflix video posted publicly on YouTube and other social media platforms, and shared through Carleton University’s webpages and social media accounts.
• Your video must be based on your graduate research for your MRP, thesis or dissertation.
• Students that participated in past GRADflix competitions at Carleton University but did not place 1st, 2nd or 3rd are eligible to participate again.
• Videos must be 1 minute or less in length.
• Videos must contain both movement and sound.
• You can use Artificial Intelligence tools for creating any aspect of your video, as long as you cite the tools you used in a static slide at the end of your video and the AI output is not copyrighted.
• The contest prizes consist of the following:
  • One (1) first place prize of $750
  • One (1) second place prize of $500
  • One (1) third place prize of $250
  • One (1) “honourable mention” prize of $250
  • One (1) “people’s choice” prize of $250
• Carleton University reserves the right not to award any of the prizes if an insufficient number of eligible submissions are received, or a selected winner is later determined to be disqualified.
• Additional submission guidelines, prizes, contact information, and other contest rules may be posted to the GRADflix website or competitor email list and form part of the contest rules.
• All decisions regarding eligibility, selecting winners, and the interpretation of contest rules will be made at the sole discretion of Carleton University’s Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs. Carleton University reserves the right to disqualify any submission for violating any of these rules or any University policy. All decisions are final and may not be appealed.

Confidentiality and Intellectual Property Requirements

• By submitting your video, you agree that your submission is an original work created by you and that you have all necessary rights and permissions in and to the submission. You also agree that this submission does not infringe upon or violate any laws or any third party rights, including, but not limited to, copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights and must not constitute material that would be considered libelous, defamatory, a privacy violation, tortious or a breach of contract.
• By submitting your video, you grant Carleton University a non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide license to distribute, publish, edit, alter, adapt, translate, transcribe, and otherwise use your video submission in any manner whatsoever for the purpose of promoting the GRADflix competition and/or the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs, and for other Carleton University non-commercial, scholarly, and academic purposes. You thereby waive any moral rights in your video submission. Carleton University is not obligated to publish the winning video(s) or any other video submissions.
• Your GRADflix video must represent your research only.
• The publication of the video will not affect any pre-existing rights regarding its use at all times prior to and following the competition except as stated below.
• Each video submission must conform to the established standards of ethical research, and must not violate the rights or terms of consent for any research participant.
• Due to the nature of the competition, we will not ask judges, staff or the audience to agree to or sign non-disclosure statements. If your research is being/has been conducted under contract with an outside sponsor, you should discuss the related contractual terms of confidentiality and intellectual property with your supervisor before creating the video.
• The livestream of the GRADflix competition will be open to the public at large, and all videos will be made publicly accessible. Any data or information presented or divulged in videos or video descriptions should be considered information that will enter the public realm, and you should not assume any right of confidentiality in any data or information discussed, divulged or presented in these sessions. This also means if that if your research includes confidential or culturally-sensitive material, you should think very carefully about how you can present this information. We advise that you discuss your competition entry with your supervisor(s) before entering the contest.
• The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs and Carleton University may post GRADflix videos on YouTube or Carleton University websites or social media accounts for promotion of the GRADflix competition and future GRADflix competitions.

If you have any questions, please contact david.lafferty@carleton.ca

Go back to GRADflix main page.