Science and Youth Foundation: 5 finalists from Southern Switzerland selected for the 59th National Competition

The 59th National Contest of the Science and Youth Foundation semi-final was held on Saturday, 11 January 2025, at the Red Building (West Campus Lugano, Università della Svizzera italiana USI). The young candidates from Southern Switzerland presented their innovative research to the jury of experts from Science and Youth. At the end of the day, the names of the 5 finalists (4 projects) who will participate in the final round of the competition were announced.

The National Science and Youth Competition, now in its 59th year, is Switzerland's most prestigious science competition. It features diploma projects conducted by high school or vocational school students aged 16 to 23.

Five candidates (four projects) from Southern Switzerland impressed the regional jury and gained access to the final round. The decisive factors for admission to the finals were "the scientific approach, the presence of a clearly recognisable personal contribution, innovation, the methodological structure of the project, reflection and a convincing presentation". In addition to the officially approved projects, several projects were placed on a reserve list, and they must be developed by the end of April to meet the requirements. The semi-finalists impressed the jury with the variety of topics and innovative power of their work, which showed how scientific thinking and creativity enable real challenges to be tackled, as demonstrated by the titles of some of the proposed projects: "Emotions: How Films Make Us Cry", "The Absorption of Salicylic Acid", "Quantum Bell Games" and "The Crisis of Classical Physics in its Historical-Epistemological Development".

The regional semi-finals for Switzerland's German-speaking region will occur on 18 January in Berne, while the French-speaking region's semi-finals will take place on 25 January in Lausanne. All works admitted to the finals will be presented to the public in an exhibition at ETH Zurich. The list of participants in the three regional semi-finals who made it to the national final can be found at the following link.

The finals of the National Competition 2025 will take place from 24 to 26 April 2025 at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ). The location of the national finals changes every year, and in 2022, USI's East Campus was chosen.

In the upcoming three months, the young people will be individually supervised by experts selected by Science and Youth, who will provide valuable advice and support them in perfecting their projects with a view to the final.

More information on the National Competition can be found at the following link.