(Darmstadt) “Jugend forscht” is Europe’s largest contest for youth and young adults in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. For over 50 years, this contest has enjoyed immense popularity. Young people vie for recognition for their experiments and research in seven subjects across two divisions. Every single STEM up-and-comer counts here!

The contest is held nationwide and consists of three rounds. The first round is the district contests, where the victors qualify for their local state contest. For the last 13 years, the South Hessen District Competition has been held at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD in Darmstadt. This year, the contest on February 25, 2021 will be completely digital, though the entries will be no less exciting! The three Fraunhofer institutes in Darmstadt, IGD, LBF and SIT, have once again taken on sponsorship of this new digital contest.

“Leave a future for the next generation.” -- This is the motto for this year. It is intended to inspire youths to take responsibility and come up with their own ideas and concepts for shaping our world for the future. Young people in particular show strong awareness of the topics our society needs to address and are especially curious and creative in coming up with solutions for the world of tomorrow.

Participants in the South Hessen District Contest will compete in two divisions, “Youth Researching” (ages 15 to 21) and “Students Experimenting” (4th grade to age 14). This year, 33 students will present a total of 20 different projects. The young scientists will vie for recognition of their projects in the areas of work environments, biology, chemistry, earth science, geography, physics and engineering. This year, topics will include CO₂ levels and ventilation in the classroom as well as sources of alternative energy. Even the school pond will be put under the microscope.

Whoever is interested in these creative ideas is cordially invited to a public award ceremony on February 21, 2021 starting at 4:00 PM. Following a reception by Fraunhofer IGD Director Prof. Dieter Fellner as well as video messages from Hessian Minister of Culture Prof. Alexander Lorz and the chairs of the Jugend forscht Foundation, Dr. Sven Baszio and Dr. Nico Kock, the director of the contest, Dr. Mathias Schott (Gymnasium Michelstadt high school) will begin awarding the prizes to the participants. He will be assisted by Dr. Benjamin Möller (Fraunhofer LBF) and Dr. Michael Kreutzer (Fraunhofer SIT). Next, awards for best advisers and schools will be announced. The ceremony will conclude with a preview of the next round of the contest, the two state contests for Hessen. The link to attend the award ceremony will be posted on February 25, 2021 on the contest website, www.jugend-forscht-hessen-sued.de.

Contact for questions about the contest:
Stefan Daun (Fraunhofer IGD): phone 06151-155-575