Phone

+61 8 6488 1135

Email

isc@uwa.edu.au

Mission Control

YouTube Space Shorts Competition

Show off your video making skills and win big!

First Prize!

Team with the YouTube Short with the most views at the end of the competition: $1000 cash!

Judges' Discretion

Chosen by the ISC committee for the Short that conveys the spirit of the competition the best: $200 cash!

Popular Vote

Decided with a vote by Mission Control members: $250 cash!

Submit your Short!
Need some inspiration?

> YouTube Shorts Home <

Have questions? Get in touch!

> isc@uwa.edu.au <

What?

Space Shorts is a competition to encourage Mission Control members of the UWA International Space Centre to communicate their research in a creative and engaging way. We want you to produce a YouTube Shorts video that showcases your area of study or love for space, and how it connects to space exploration, innovation or research. 

How?

YouTube Shorts are vertical videos that are under 60 seconds in length (similar to Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok reels). For this competition, you can create a Short by yourself, or in a group of up to 3 people. The aim of your Short is to educate the general public about a space topic and to inspire interest in space research. Whether you’re explaining a complex topic, highlighting new technology, or just sharing something interesting about your work, this is a great chance to communicate your research to a broader audience in a new way.  For examples and tutorials on how to create engaging YouTube Shorts, check out our help page here. Also be sure to check out the YouTube Submission Guidelines, and our Terms and Conditions. Good luck! 

Where?

The ISC will upload your shorts to YouTube, where they will be publicly available for people to watch.  First prize is $1,000 cash, given to the Space Short with the most views at the end of the competition. The more engaging your Space Short is, the more likely you are to win. There will also be two $250 cash prizes - one will be decided with a vote by mission control members, and the other chosen by the ISC Executive Committee for the Space Short that conveys the spirit of the competition the best.

When?

  • 29 August, 2025: Submissions Open.
  • 1 October, 2025: Submissions Close.
  • 1 November, 2025: Winners will be Announced.
We will start uploading Space Shorts from the 16th of September (16/09/2025), where one video per day will be uploaded - in the order that they were submitted (see a timeline here). 

Got questions?

What should my Space Short be about?

This is up to you! Think of some space research, project, technology, etc that you are passionate about, and create a video in a way that the general public will like. If you're stuck for ideas, try take a scroll through YouTube shorts for inspiration, or search up a topic that interests you and look through the results for shorts.

How do I gain more views?

Check out the Help Page for tips on making a Short more engaging. For more tips, search up how big creators optimise their shorts and look at a few popular shorts to see what techniques they use.

How much creative freedom do I have?

While you have lots of freedom to create your own style of video, you will still be representing UWA and the ISC with these videos so the shorts must be related to space and somewhat educational. Submissions that are low quality, not educational, not space related or don’t convey the spirit of the competition will be rejected. More info on the Submission Guidelines, Content Guidelines and Terms and Conditions page.

I've never made a YouTube Short before, where do I start?

Check out the Help Page for tips on how to make a short from scratch and the different tools you can use. Search for YouTube creators that have made videos on how to create shorts with no experience as well.

Can I use external help (videographers, editors, writers, etc) for the competition?

While they are allowed, the spirit of the competition is to create your own videos and collaborate with fellow Mission Control members. Overly using external help to create these shorts defeats the spirit of the competition and leaves other groups at a disadvantage, so shorts that extensively use this external help will be disqualified.