EUCYS 2026 Young Scientists Shine in Kiel

• The EU Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) 2026 in Kiel, Germany, awarded first prizes to teams from Italy, Poland, Canada, and Georgia.
• 141 students aged 14 to 20 participated, showcasing research projects to a 20-member jury.
• The event is part of the "Science Comes to Town" initiative, which aims to bring scientific engagement to the public across multiple European cities.

Winning Innovations

• PlantLeaf (Italy): Developed an affordable €20 device that uses acoustic sensors to monitor plant stress and health.
• Insulin Pump Innovation (Belgium): Rune Bobbaers, a student with type 1 diabetes, reverse-engineered insulin pumps to create a more user-friendly, child-oriented interface.
• Mathematics (Poland): Kazimierz Jakub Chomicz advanced research on the "Chicken McNugget theorem," which explores combinations of fixed-size units with applications in cryptography.
• Medical Technology (Canada): Gurnoor Kaur investigated new sensor wavelengths to improve the accuracy of pulse oximeters, which currently struggle to detect oxygen levels correctly in people with darker skin.
• Cancer Research (Georgia): Nikoloz Tkebuchava and Lizi Chachua used AI-based simulations to identify the potential role of the FAM163A protein in brain and lung cancer growth.

Impact and Future

• The EUCYS serves as a platform for international scientific collaboration and idea exchange among high-school-aged researchers.
• Prize winners plan to use their €7,000 awards to further develop their technologies and support their educational paths.
• The "Science Comes to Town" program will continue in 2027, with events scheduled for cities including Genoa, Italy, which will also host the next EUCYS.