The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences hosted the 12th annual student scientific session of the High-School-Students’ Institute of BAS (HSSI-BAS) at the PhD Training Center of the Academy which took place on November 15 and 16.
The event was opened by Assoc. Prof. Desislava Abadjieva, coordinator of the “Education with Science” National Program whose program initiative supported the activities of HSSI. A greeting on behalf of the Academy was delivered by Corresponding Member Evdokia Pasheva, Vice-President of BAS, who congratulated the participants and encouraged them to develop in various fields of science, emphasizing the role of scientific forums for the development of their future potential. The Ministry of Education and Science was represented by a team from the National STEM Center led by Director Prof. Nayden Shivarov. In his greeting to HSSI, he emphasized that STEM environment in schools was gradually expanding as an environment for experimentation, creativity, and critical thinking, with the aim of preparing students for real scientific and technological challenges.
Academician Petar Kenderov, scientific director and founder of HSSI-BAS and member of the board of the “St. Cyril and St. Methodius” International Foundation recalled the mission of the High-School-Students’ Institute – to encourage pupils to explore through science, to participate in similar forums where they could present their work which provided an opportunity to build a lasting relationship between schools and the academic community. A significant moment at the opening was the presentation of an award to Ms. Stefka Petkova in recognition of her contribution to the development of sustainable STEM practices in the school environment.
The director of the PhD Training Center – BAS, Prof. Antonia Stoyanova, also congratulated the participants and emphasized that the activities of HSSI-BAS complemented the mission of the PhD Training Center – BAS in the field of education and training. The students’ event was supported by the “Evrika” Foundation and “Prosveta” Publishing House who also congratulated the participants in the pupils’ session.
This year, for the first time, a special STEM section was included with student projects created in a school environment under the guidance of teachers and academic mentors supported by the “Education with Science” program and the “Evrika” Foundation. In addition to the STEM section, the projects were presented in seven other sections: Humanities; two sessions on Information, Communication, and Technical Sciences; Mathematics; Biology, Biomedicine, Biochemistry; Chemistry, Physics, Physical Chemistry; Social Sciences and Arts.
The number of student projects exceeded 110 which was a record for HSSI to date. The total number of pupils who authored projects was 208. They were pupils from 50 schools in 26 cities across the country. There were 97 project leaders, including teachers, a significant number of specialists from scientific institutes and universities or students at prestigious foreign universities many of whom were long-time participants in HSSI-BAS events.
The juries in the individual sections were established scientists who ranked the projects based on pre-prepared reviews but above all on the presentation and defense in front of the audience during the session itself. The top three places in each field were awarded cash vouchers funded by the “Education with Science” National Program. Participants also received incentive awards from publishers and non-governmental organizations.
Taken together, students, supervisors, reviewers, and members of the scientific juries, the 12th pupils’ session involved, directly or indirectly, around 350 people. In this way, HSSI-BAS achieved one of its main goals – to establish a direct link between high school students and scientists, a bridge between science and education.
