Day 3

The main event of the third day of the International Junior Science Olympiad was an experimental tour. The students worked on real research tasks in teams. The advanced equipment that was used during the practical round is rarely seen at the Olympics of this kind. For example, the participants investigated processes such as electrolysis and photosynthesis using spectrometers.

All experimental data was processed using laptops. That created conditions that are as close as possible to real scientific research, where the main goal is to set up an experiment and analyze the results.

"The experimental tour turned out to be quite difficult. I didn’t have enough time and experience. In Macedonia, almost all intellectual competitions are held in a test format. Here, on the contrary, the first stage began with a team experiment. It wasn’t easy, but it was super exciting. All conditions have been created at Sirius to get to know science better: from modern experimental equipment to comfortable lecture halls. This modern educational center is really impressive," says Dora Mileva, a participant from Northern Macedonia.

"My goal is to become an engineer. To do this, I need to deepen my knowledge of mechanics, as this is the foundation of this profession. I’m interested in physics, so today’s experimental tour has been a real challenge for me. We had to perform unusual tasks, including creating chemical mixtures, which turned out to be not such an easy task. Nevertheless, the supportive atmosphere and friendly curators made our journey much easier," said H M Azizur Rahman Alif from Bangladesh.

"Time to solve problems was limited, so a huge part of the success depended on teamwork. First of all, we divided the tasks among ourselves: one of us was engaged in physics, the other in biology, and the third one in chemistry. I was in charge of physics and helped a little with chemistry. I think I managed to give my best today," says Mustafa Zardasht, a schoolboy from Iraq.

In the afternoon, the participants of JSO-2025 attended a lecture by Dmitry Chermoshentsev, head of the group at Rosatom Quantum Technologies, senior researcher at the scientific group of the Russian Quantum Center. The expert gave a talk on the development of quantum computers and how quantum computing engages with our lives today.