NIHERST Science Music Video Competition was launched for a second time on March 4th 2013.The competition combines the arts and sciences to popularise the importance of science, technology and innovation (STI) to national development.

The 2013 competition came to a close on September 7th, 2013 with the hosting of an awards ceremony at the Capital Plaza Hotel, at which winners walked away with a total of $108,000 in prize money. Participants received commendations for their tremendous effort, which was most evident for the high quality of their productions, which surpassed the calibre of the 2012 competition, which was outstanding for an inaugural competition. The panel of judges had the most difficult task of selecting the top five winners from the pool of remarkable and "edutaining" science music videos. Judges concurred that the top 5 winning videos and the 5 "stand out" videos in specific areas, should be widely promoted and used as vehicles for increasing public awareness and changing public attitude towards critical STI issues facing Trinidad and Tobago.

  • The first prize of $30,000 was awarded to Lesson of the Forest by Oliver Milne and Richard Solis, a video which centred on the importance of the life cycle of forests.
  • In second place with a prize of $20,000 was Hurricane Hustle, produced by Varsha Persad, De Anna Mohan and Xala Ramesar, with its step-by-step guide on hurricane preparedness.
  • The third place prize of $15,000 was presented to Rockin, an exhilarating music video on the science behind earthquakes, produced by Derron Sandy, Kenyatta Lewis, Terisa Reid and Denith McNicolls.
  • Fourth place with a prize of $10,000 was Renewable Energy, a video produced by Aaronica Patterson, Avernel Patterson and Che Wellington, which highlighted the basics of the science and the benefits of renewable energy.
  • Fifth place, with a prize of $8,000, was Global Warming created by Shemmy Camps, which showcased the effects and causes of global warming and selected preventative measures.

Special prizes of a value of $5000 were presented to those videos that stood out for their merits in Basic Science, Direction, Concept and Technical Explanation. These videos were

  • The Beauty of Sound and Light by Riaz Ali
  • Mr. Influenza by Terry DeCoteau and Reneasha Joseph-DeCoteau
  • Concert for My Fans by Kester Omavi Langevine and Mark Dingwell
  • The GMO Stand Off by Moses Mike, Malcolm Marcano and Majesty Mike

The Viewer's Choice, cash prize of $5,000, was presented to Titan Lee Hai, Aaron Suite, Adam Suite and Chad Adams for S.U.P. (Save Ur Planet) after receiving 2,184 Facebook likes in our People's Choice Competition.

NIHERST congratulates all participants and express our gratitude that you have so eagerly embraced this competition which is unique in our region. Your entries were exceptionally creative, thought-provoking and of a high-calibre.