During the Ministerial conference held in Sofia in November 2004, representatives from all countries in the region expressed their conviction on the vital need for the elaboration of a common platform and vision on the future of young research generation.
All participants agreed on the importance of the initiative and stated their support and interest in organizing Regional Young Talents Contest in the area of Natural Sciences.
The Contest was considered to be both a "vehicle for promotion" and a regional science forum for young talented people from the Region.
During the regional meeting of the Ministers, responsible for science the National Science Fund of the Ministry of Education and Science of Republic of Bulgaria was chosen to be the host organizer of the first regional contest for young talents.
REGULATIONS
ELIGIBILITY:
- Participants in the contest must be citizens of any of the South-East European countries at the age between 15 and 21;
- Projects can be prepared by individuals or by teams of max three young researchers;
- Application forms and 10 pages written description of the projects plus all relevant attachments photographs, illustrations, etc. should be submitted to the host organizer by the National organizers /see National organizers' section/ before the closing date for entries.
- All relevant documents (incl. scientific resume, demonstration materials, illustrations) of the project necessary for participation in the regional contest should be submitted in English and should contain the following information:
- Title of the project in national language and in English
- Aims of the research project
- Materials and methods
- Investigations and conclusions
- Only contestant that who have been designated by their respective national authorities can participate in the SEE Young Talents Contest: winners of National competitions or young people interested in science selected by the National organizers in the countries where such competitions are not organized.
Winners of National competitions in the countries from the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation, European Union, other European countries, Russia, NIS etc. are invited to attend the Scientific Fair as guest countries
- The projects have to cover a scientific thesis in one of the following sections:
- Mathematics & Informatics
- Physics, Chemistry & Geology
- Biology, Ecology & Agricultural sciences
- Medical sciences
- Engineering & Technical sciences
- Contestant should set up their projects for display. The Host organizer will provide stands on which demonstration materials, posters and other materials will be shown during the Science Fair. More information about the stands you can find HERE
DEADLINES:
- The National organizers have to send electronically and by mail the application forms and the written description of the projects to the Host organizer at the latest on 20 June 2005
- The Host organizer have to distribute the projects to the jury members* at the latest on 30 June 2005
- The jury members have to send to the Host organizer a short evaluation report which will be given to the National organizers on the arrival to the exhibition
- The final evaluation of the projects and the Science Fair will be held in Sofia , Bulgaria in the period 8-12 July
* Every project is evaluated at least by two jury members and one member of the alumni jury
** The national organizer and participants receive short evaluation report 10 days before the Science Fair in Sofia
this year due to different organisational details this activity will be not possible but the evaluaton reports will be given on the day of arrival).
*** The working language of the Jury is ENGLISH
Requirements to the participants:
To be born between 01.01.1984 and 01.01.1989
Not to be studying in III-rd year at the university
To be citizens of one of the SEE countries
Requirements to the team projects:
The task and contributions of each team member are clearly outlined
Each team member is fully involved in the project
Each team member is familiar with all aspects of the project
A project should be disqualifying in case of:
• plagiarism
• breaking ethical rules for scientific projects
It is forbidden for the participants to bring animals and dangerous chemicals; In case of special experimental equipment needed for the project performance, the national organizers should be informed in due time!!!
Project written description :
Maximum ten pages, format A4. It is recommended the projects to be sent electronically in PDF. RTF format is also acceptable.
The projects have to be sent electronically and by regular mail. Attached to the mail it is recommended to have the project materials on a CD ROM or diskette.
Bibliography
SCIENCE FAIR
During the Science Fair the contestants should show:
• Ability to explain what was done
• Clearly understanding of the meaning of the results obtained
• Well organized display with logical parts of the presentation.
• Lack of the elements not relevant to the study
• Good and understandable display of the project:
The display stands alone. It is possible to understand the study without the students present
The display communicates science!!! It is not just an exercise in artistry
Stands for the Science Fair
Length 2,00 ٌ
Depth 0,50 ٌ
Height 2,20ٌ
Upon the participant's request, the Organizer of the Regional contest 2005 is obliged to provide chairs - max 3, electricity, adaptors;
The organizer of the Science Fair is not obliged to provide computers and other multimedia equipment.
Awards:
The jury nominates:
• 1 first place award for each of the 5 sections - (500 euro + gifts from sponsors);
• 1 second place award for each of the 5 sections (200 euro + gifts from sponsors);
• 1 third place award for each of the 5 sections (100 euro + gifts from sponsors);
Alumni jury awards 3 encouraging prises financial contribution, material awards or participation in international fair or event.
• All the participants receive Certificates and small promotional presents;
JURY
The Jury is composed of independent scientific experts of international repute nominated by the Ministries from each participating country in the region. Each country-member of the Contest is responsible for organizing a national selection for nominating jury members
The nominated jury members have to be experienced researchers in one of the following domains:
• mathematics
• information science/technology
• engineering and technical science
• physics
• chemistry
• biology, ecology, medical sciences
• agricultural sciences
• earth sciences, geology
Each country has to provide to the host organizer a detailed CV of the nominated expert with all the recent publications in international and national scientific magazines from the last 3 years;
It is preferable the nominated person to have experience as evaluator on national, European or international contests and events; Excellent knowledge of English is recommended, as well as good knowledge of the regional state of the art and of joint projects with regional countries.
The Host Organizer will coordinate the Jury selection process and will take care that all countries are equally represented and that all scientific domains are covered.
One-third of the Jury members will be replaced on rotation principle every year starting from 2006. As observers in the Jury there will be two state representatives responsible for science from the SEE countries, proposed by the Ministries .
Jury members are responsible for the scientific assessment of the projects. Judging takes place in 2 stages. The first evaluation is based on the written description of the projects. The final selection is made after oral presentation and interview during the scientific exhibition.
The Host organizer of the pilot Regional Contest is responsible for collecting all the projects from the national organizers in the country-members and for distributing them to the evaluators by e-mail and by mail.
An expert card containing the evaluation criteria will be prepared and sent to all jury members. This evaluation card is the main document for judging the projects.
Project Evaluation Criteria
The criteria used to assess projects shall be the following:
1. Significance of the obtained results:
A.) scientific significance
• The study is well thought out and shows originality in thought and design;
• The objectives and goals of the project are well defined;
• The scientific literature is examined;
• The data collected relates to the hypothesis of the chosen project;
• Experiments are used to prove the main thesis
B.) applicability
2. Creative Ability/Originality:
• The creativity of the study is within the participant's creative ability;
• the participant uses scientific methods and experimentation apart from descriptions and observations;
President of the Jury:
The president of the Jury will be nominated on the rotation principle and paying attention to have the balance between nationalities.
The president of the Jury is responsible for preparing a timetable for all jury members with information which members of the Jury should visit which projects of the Science Fair.
The president of the jury has to prepare the final proposal of the projects' ranking after receiving the written reports with the proposed marks with short explanations from the each Jury member. The decision making will be based on consensus rather than voting.
Alumni Jury
The Host organizer have to nominated 3 young researchers, preferably the national young scientists contest winners, who have participated in different international competitions (Europe contest, etc.)
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND DETAILS, PLEASE CONTACT:
Mrs. Karina Angelieva
Head of sector "Transnational programme initiatives"
Scientific Research Department
Ministry of Education and Science
k.diangeli@minedu.government.bg
+359 2 9217 548 tel.
+359 887 985 746 GSM
www.young.nsfb.net
www.nsfb.net
THE HOST ORGANIZER COVERS THE EXPENCES FOR 3 PARTICIPANTS:
Reimbursement of travel with bus or train (providing and invoice or ticket) and hotel from 8 till 11 of July, meals, excursions, etc.
For one two evaluators:
The same
For National organizer:
The same
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