As of: February 29, 2024, 9:00 p.m
By: Christine Wölfle
Comments
Press
Split
Like a big family: participants and jurors from “Jugend forscht” and “Students experiment” lined up for a group photo.
© Hans-Helmut Herold
It's not like today's youth are disinterested: what the participants at “Jugend forscht” in Schongau are presenting deserves only one thing: the highest respect.
Schongau – The 36 stands are bustling, both behind and in front.
The total of 58 participants from 13 schools across the Alpine foothills, from Bad Tölz to Lindau, are very excited and proud to finally be able to present their projects.
The regional competition for young researchers is taking place in Schongau for the 20th time, and Hoerbiger is once again acting as a sponsoring company.
Since yesterday they have been showing the results of their innovative research in the categories of earth and spatial sciences, biology, physics, technology, working world, chemistry, mathematics and computer science in the Lech sports hall.
These include works that deal with the “classics” such as climate protection, resource efficiency and, most recently, AI.
But you can also find very specific topics, such as species-appropriate prevention of ticks in meadows, determining the exact distance to a distant star and a light-controlled vehicle at the 36 stands.
But as different as the projects are, one thing unites them: their “inventors” are passionate about them.
They often worked on their presentation for months, sometimes years, tinkering, designing and then discarding, continually incorporating new ideas until their work was ready to be entered into the competition.
There are no guidelines, the topics are chosen by yourself and the projects are created on your own initiative
There's a lot of perseverance behind it.
And also team spirit.
Many projects were created through the joint work of up to three participants.
No more are allowed.
“It is often quite surprising what is actually behind the sometimes unspectacular construction of a stand,” explains Stefan Felber, who is also in charge of the 20th regional competition.
“That’s the great thing about this competition: There are no specifications, the topics are chosen by oneself and the projects are created on one’s own initiative,” he says with beaming eyes and eagerly inquires at each stand what the respective concept is all about .
Stefan Felber (l.) and Wolfgang Garber are the organizers of the regional competition.
© Hans-Helmut Herold
Sometimes it works faster, sometimes it takes more time to get behind the project.
Because the students are all in such a state of flow, with all the smallest details of their research work in their heads, that some people find it difficult to summarize the entire work in just a few words.
And some people could lecture for hours because of their scientific enthusiasm.
With eyes so bright and so much passion that you don't want to interrupt them.
There is a wide variety of projects - from lightning that creates melodies to AI for teeth
Anyone who believes that the students are competing with each other and that there is a climate of ambition in the Lech sports hall is seriously mistaken.
“I thought the elbows were being extended here.
But there is a wonderful atmosphere here, everyone helps each other,” enthuses Anna Achatz from Buchloe, for example, who “tested the AI” at her stand.
My news
By long-distance bus to Munich?
Read “Cool Stuff”.
Blue light ticker for the Weilheim-Schongau region: Read car discovered with stolen license plates
Numerous ash trees cut down in Schongau – citizens are angry about “radical clear-cutting” read
Finally a real birthday again: Käthe Spies celebrates reading on February 29th
Official start of the “SOGESUND – Medical Center” in Schongaulesen
Peitinger CSU councilor Steffi Wörnzhofer resigns read back
The jury members are asked to explain exactly how the individual projects work.
© Hans-Helmut Herold
And Raphael Stelz from Garmisch-Partenkirchen also shows respect for his research colleagues.
When asked if he would like to present his project in the newspaper, he said: “My work doesn't actually benefit anyone, and I bought parts of the structure.
My neighbors on the left and right have a lot more to offer.” Nevertheless, its structure looks spacey and proves that lightning can create melodies.
The free choice of topics is a real blessing for visitors, because the variety of projects is huge.
This makes it all a little more difficult for the jury, because a wide variety of works have to be evaluated fairly.
Patent for research work
14 jurors are now spoiled for choice to find out the best from the 27 experimental students (up to 14 years old) and the 28 researching young people.
But the final decision, which will be announced on Thursday afternoon in the Peitinger Schloßberghalle, will probably not cause any envy among the participants.
They understand each other too well.
In addition, most students see their project as a beginning and already have many ideas about how they can optimize it.
And maybe compete again next year.
And who knows, maybe one or the other will even get a patent for their research work?
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” says competition director Felber.
Today's winners will first go to the state competition in Vilsbiburg in April.
Anyone who would like to see for themselves the talented young researchers and their work can do so this Thursday between 9 and 11 a.m. in the Schongauer Lechsporthalle.
There is an exhibition for the public.
Admission is free.