Today, at the Silesian Museum in Katowice, the European City of Science 2024, two prestigious European science competitions concluded with the announcement of their winners. The 35th EU Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) and the 2nd EU TalentOn brought together over 250 promising young minds from across the globe to present innovative solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of our time.
EUCYS 2024
Meanwhile, 146 young scientists aged 14 to 20, from 37 countries, showcased their projects at the 35th EUCYS. Competing in a range of scientific fields including biology, chemistry, computer science, and engineering, the participants impressed the international jury of esteemed scientists and engineers. The first prize winning projects, each receiving €7,000, were:
- Piotr Olbryś from Poland for the project Design of new pyrene-4,5,9,10-tetraone-based heterocyclic derivatives as high-capacity organic cathode materials: a density functional theory study
- Nikhil Vemuri from the USA for the project ANOMaLY: A Real-Time Globalized System for Effective Regional Mitigation of Agricultural Nitrous Oxide Emissions
- Lamia Music from Austria for the project Sustainable and Advanced Approaches to Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
- Aleksandra Petkova from Bulgaria for the project Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of Ship Wakes
In addition to cash prizes, winners were awarded prestigious visits to leading European research institutions such as CERN, ESA, and EMBL.
Full list of EUCYS 2024 Winners
EU TalentOn 2024
During the five-day event, 108 young researchers aged 21 to 35, from 38 countries, competed in teams of four to address societal challenges linked to the five EU Missions under Horizon Europe.
The first prize winning teams, each receiving €7,500, were recognised for their outstanding projects in each mission category:
- Adaptation to Climate Change Mission: H2FAST (Pawel Brusiło, Faisal Alaid, Brita Laht, Ana Maria Popa)
- Cancer Mission: Breath for Life (Anneke Kastelein, Ana Filipa Moreno, Guillermo Nevot, Simone Kresevic, Krzysztof Gorgoń)
- Restore our Oceans & Waters Mission: WhaleTrail (Leonard Günzel, Spela Lemez, Akshay Kowseller, Adriano Nicola Pilagatti, Barbara Wachowicz)
- Climate-neutral and Smart Cities Mission: E(CO) mining (Ali Badiei, Aanchal Sharma, Carmelo Carbone, Muhammad Hamza Daud, Kamila Fąferaal)
- Soil Deal for Europe Mission: ReviSoil (Diana Maria Branga, Adam Grzywaczyk, Qumber Abbas, Emma Olmi, Aleksandra Maksimowska)
The Grand Prize of €12,000 for the best overall project was awarded to Breath for Life Anneke Kastelein, Ana Filipa Moreno, Guillermo Nevot, Simone Kresevic, Krzysztof Gorgoń for their outstanding contribution to Mission Arena: Cancer.
Second prizes were also awarded for each Mission Arena.
Full list of TalentOn 2024 Winners
Iliana Ivanova, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said:
“To all the brilliant young minds here today, you have not only impressed us with your creativity and innovation, but you have also shown the world what the future holds when passion meets purpose. Your work in tackling some of the most complex challenges of our time reminds us that the solutions we seek lie in the hands of those who dare to dream and innovate. Congratulations to each of you – your achievements give us hope and inspiration.”
Background
The European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) is the most important student science fair in the EU set up by the European Commission in 1989. Each year, the event brings together the best young scientists aged 14-20 from the EU and beyond to present their projects to a panel of international judges. The number of participating students has grown from 53 in the first competition in 1989 to an average of 150 a year.
The participants presented 94 different projects to an esteemed jury of 21 highly qualified scientists and engineers with worldwide reputations in their chosen fields, chaired by Professor Milan Macek, of Prague’s Charles University. The winning projects shared a total of €62 000 in prize money, including four 1st prizes of €7,000, four 2nd prizes of €5,000, four 3rd prizes of €3,500, and prestigious visits to the most important research organisations in Europe such as CERN, ESA, ESO, EU XFEL, Eurofusion, EMBL, ILL and ESRF as well as to CBE, CNIC and the Osaka World Exposition.
EUCYS aims to promote young European students’ careers in Research & Innovation by giving them the opportunity to compete and exchange ideas with their peers at EU and international level and be guided by some of the most prominent scientists in Europe. Equally, it fosters the participation of young women scientists in Research & Innovation, as they are still underrepresented in STEAM. This year, 63 of the 146 participants are young girls.
EU TalentOn is a biennial event that challenges young talented researchers to find solutions to help solve the most pressing global issues. It contributes directly to the actions set out in the ERA Policy Agenda. Specifically, the contest helps bring science closer to citizens by inviting them to co-create solutions for our most pressing challenges. It provides a platform on which everyone wanting to share science, knowledge, art, and skills can participate, thus establishing new connections between science and society in innovative, open, playful, and sincere ways. It is supported by the Horizon Europe Work Programme, “Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area”.
Female representation – both in terms of the applicants and in the selected participants, was higher than the male participation, with 63% of the applicants and selected participants identifying as women. The next EU TalentOn will take place in 2026 as part of a new European Commission initiative called ‘Science Comes to Town’.
The 108 participants, divided into 27 groups of four, pitched their projects based on the five EU Missions to an international jury. The winning projects shared a total of EUR 75 000 in prize money, including a first and second prize per Mission Arena and one overall prize.
More information
EUCYS website
EU TalentOn website
Press contact:
EC Spokesperson for Research, Science and Innovation
