EUCYS 2022 Leiden

We are pleased to announce that EUCYS 2022 will take place in Leiden, Netherlands from 13 to 18 September. This year, Leiden will also be the location of another competition for young researchers promoted by the European Commission, TalentOn.

We wish EUCYS contestants the best of luck! You will be able to follow the event day by day on our Twitter, Instagram and Facebook channels. On the dedicated event website, you will be able to find more information and discover the complete programme of the event.

• 33rd EU Contest for Young Scientists: and the winner is…
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Aim of the EU Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS)

The EU Contest for Young Scientists gives students the opportunity to

• compete with the best of their contemporaries at European level
• meet others with similar abilities and interests
• get guidance from some of the most prominent scientists in Europe

It highlights the best of European scientific student achievements and attracts widespread media interest.

The contest is an initiative of the Commission under the Science and Society programme. It was set up to promote the ideals of cooperation and information exchange between young scientists.

See also

EUCYS Past contests

How to participate

The EU Contest for Young Scientists accepts project entries from contestants working in any scientific field aged between 14 and 20 at the date of the contest.

Projects must be nominated by the national organiser in each participating country. Typically, they are the winners of contests organised at national level.

Projects can be by individuals or teams of not more than 3 people. Each country may submit up to 3 projects, with a maximum of 6 contestants in total.  

Contestants will provide both a written project and a project suitable for display in a public exhibition during the contest. Contestants will also be required to answer questions from members of the scientific jury. For teams, all members must be represented at the contest.

Award criteria

The criteria used to assess projects are as follows

• originality and creativity in the identification of and the approach to the basic problem
• skill, care and thoroughness in designing and carrying out the study
• following through of the study from conception to conclusion
• reasoning and clarity in the interpretation of the results
• quality of written presentation and ability to discuss the project with the jury members

A jury composed of 18-20 members of international reputation, who carry out their duties as individuals and not as representatives of an institution or country, are responsible for the evaluation of the projects following a strict procedure.

Prizes

The contestants compete based on their work and interviews with the jury for 9 core prizes awarded by the European Commission.

In addition to these prizes, a number of honorary awards and special donated prizes are awarded to contestants who, in the judgement of the jury, would benefit from the specific experiences these prizes offer.

Core Prizes

• Four 1st Prizes of €7,000
• Four 2nd Prizes of €5,000  
• Four 3rd Prizes of €3,500  

Honorary Awards

These include all-expenses-paid trips to the London International Youth Science Forum (LIYSF) and the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar (SIYSS). The prize to Stockholm also includes tickets to the Nobel Prize Ceremony.

Special Donated Prizes

EIROFORUM Prizes: Visits to the biggest and most important research laboratories in Europe.

Joint Research Centre (JRC) Prize: participants in 3 successful projects will spend two days at the JRC site at Ispra in Italy.

EuCheMs Prize: €1,000 for the best chemistry entry in the EU Young Scientists Contest.

BBI JU Prize: a stay in Brussels, including travel and accommodation and visits to biobased plants in Belgium and Northern France to the project that best uses biotechnology for the production and the conversion of renewable biological resources into non-food value-added products.

Other prizes include: FoodDrinkEurope prize, and Food industry prizes.

National Organisers

The National Organisers are responsible for selecting projects, submitting applications, and for all communication with the Commission.