Background

Students are selected to study medicine after a highly competitive examination. The faculty of Medicine of the University of Kelaniya is blessed with multi-talented young Sri Lankan men and women seeking a career in medicine. Only the most academically brilliant and emotionally resilient students can easily withstand this gruelling course of five years duration.

Understandably, undergraduate medical education could be cognitively and physically demanding to young university students and induce emotional stress. However, it is seen frequently that university students lack essentials emotional awareness skills, coping skills, and problem-solving techniques that would help in optimal stress management. Apart from the theoretical and clinical learning in their core subjects, it is important to learn emotional regulation and psychological stress management to be effective learners and empathetic future doctors. Otherwise, their maladaptive ways of coping will persist into their work-life in their medical career.
 
Aims of the project

  1. Improve emotional awareness, psychological mindedness, and coping skills among medical students
  2. Obtain recognition in social media and e-platforms for the 30th Anniversary of the Faculty of Medicine
  3. Provide mental health promotion material in an easily accessible format to adolescents and youth
  4. Recognise and celebrate the creativity of medical undergraduates in artistic domains
  5. Learning to design and produce effective mental health promotion material

Themes

The short film should be based on one or several of the following topics. The video could be targeting increasing the awareness of school children, non-medical university students, youth, teachers, and parents. The script may contain a certain level of humour. However, there should be a health message as the main focus of the production.

  1. Empathy
  2. Emotional intelligence
  3. Psychological stress
  4. COVID and mental health
  5. Adaptive coping skills
  6. Relaxation techniques
  7. Online education, concentration, and memory
  8. Teen and Youth depression
  9. Screen addiction/Internet gaming disorder
  10. Respect in a relationship
  11. Psychoactive substance use prevention

Guidelines

  • Make a short film about a mental health concept concerning adolescents or youth
  • The video should be made in landscape orientation
  • The video and audio quality should be satisfactory to be uploaded to social media sites and online video streaming platforms
  • The students are encouraged to use a smartphone or video camera for video making.
  • The video should be 4 minutes and 30 seconds or less than that. Any video longer than 5 minutes will have to be edited and resubmitted.
  • In the beginning, a creative title should be shown and at the end, all those who contributed should be mentioned as credits.
  • The logo of the Faculty of Medicine, the name of the faculty, and the batch should be mentioned at the start.
  • The Faculty of Medicine University of Kelaniya logo should be displayed in the right upper corner during the video.
  • The audio component could be in any of the languages, Sinhalese, Tamil, or English. Also, a mix of languages is accepted.
  • Students are encouraged to include subtitles. But this is not compulsory.
  • Only students of the Faculty of Medicine University of Kelaniya can take part in writing the screenplay, acting, directing, singing, and producing the short film.
  • A video can be made by an individual student or a group of students with a maximum of 10 students per group.
  • Technically well-made videos are valued. However, technical difficulties should not hinder a student’s desire to participate in the competition.
  • The short film should not contain elements that are derogatory to an individual or an organisation. There should not be discrimination towards any gender, ethnicity, or religion. The video should not promote any commercial product, substance, or harmful habit. Commercial brands can not be mentioned.
  • The submission link will be sent one week before the deadline.
  • The short film should be submitted on or before 1st August 2021.
 

Competition


All participants would be praised with a certificate. The best three short films will be awarded in a ceremony. The decision of the panel of judges comprising academic staff and other experts would be final. The point allocation would be for creativity (30%), acting (30%), health message (30%), and quality of the production (10%).

Academic Guidance

Professor Nirmala Perera – Consultant Judicial Medical Officer
Dr Miyuru Chandradasa – Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Dr Shobhavi Randeny – Consultant Paediatrician
Dr Lathika Athauda - Public Health Expert
Dr Manuja Perera - Consultant Community Physician

Student Coordinators

Amila Wijethilake   0772382931
Minura Laksith      0775252231
©2024 Health Data Science Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. All Rights Reserved.

Search