The motto “Make Ideas Big!” of the 58th competition round is intended to encourage all interested children and young people to research, invent, and experiment. It is about showing how far one’s own thoughts can take you—and how small ideas can become major research projects. As part of initiatives to promote young talent, the competition is indispensable. Founded in 1965, “Jugend forscht” is today Europe’s largest science competition for young people.

In 2023, the three Darmstadt Fraunhofer Institutes SIT, LBF, and IGD are acting as patrons of the Hessen-South regional competition for the fifteenth time. The competition will be held on the premises of Fraunhofer IGD. A total of 42 young researchers will present 24 projects in the two categories “Schüler experimentieren” (ages 10 to 14) and “Jugend forscht” (ages 15 to 21). Each project is assigned to one of six subject areas: biology, chemistry, geo and space sciences, mathematics/computer science, physics, and technology. This year’s topics included questions such as whether coffee grounds are a good fertilizer, whether microplastic levels in rivers vary over time, and whether Wi-Fi radiation has measurable effects on single-celled organisms.

Anyone interested in the creative ideas of the young researchers is warmly invited to attend the public presentation of the projects on February 23, 2023, starting at 2:00 p.m., at the premises of Fraunhofer IGD.

The competition director is once again Dr. Mathias Schott (Michelstadt Grammar School). He will be supported at the award ceremony by Julia Wrobel (Jugend forscht Foundation), Prof. Dieter Fellner (Fraunhofer IGD), Dr. Benjamin Möller (Fraunhofer LBF), and Dr. Michael Kreutzer (Fraunhofer SIT).

By winning the Hessen-South regional competition, participants qualify for the Hessen state competition. For the “Schüler experimentieren” category, this will take place on March 24 and 25, 2023 at the University of Kassel, and for the “Jugend forscht” category on March 29 and 30, 2023 at Merck in Darmstadt.

Contact for questions about the competition:
Stefan Daun (Fraunhofer IGD), Tel. +49 6151 155 575

Program

09:00 a.m.  Evaluation of projects by the jury and press
(not open to the public)

2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Public presentation of the projects
3:30 – 4:00 p.m. Reception
4:00 – 6:00 p.m. Ceremony with award presentation
From 6:00 p.m. Conclusion

Further information can be found at
www.jugend-forscht-hessen-sued.de