Bulgarian scientists visited dozens of schools across the country and introduced students to the profession of a researcher and presented interesting facts and projects from the scientific fields in which they work. The meetings with the children are part of the activities of the project SEARCH: SCIENCE + ENVIRONMENT + ART = RESILIENCE, which is implemented within the framework of the Maria Sklodovska-Curie initiative of the Horizon 2020 program in the period 2022-2023.
In an accessible and popular language, the guest lecturers introduced the students to the world of science, told the news of their research fields, commented on current news from the world of science and technology, and explained their role in life, in everyday life and in the development of humanity.
Within three months, researchers visited dozens of schools in Petrich, Dolna Mitropolia, Plovdiv, the village of Satovcha, Gotse Delchev, Teteven, Sofia and others. They met with over 400 students between 5th and 12th grade.
During the inspiring meetings, the guest speakers awakened the children’s curiosity about various physical and chemical phenomena by organizing numerous workshops, presentations, lectures, meetings, quizzes, raffles and others. Among the topics of the lectures was water as an ecological source of energy, glass, light and the colour spectrum, and fossil plants as a source of knowledge about vegetation and climate millions of years ago, as well as their regeneration.
We thank the scientists who joined the project, played the role of lecturers and introduced hundreds of children to the fascinating world of science! The meetings continue and in the coming months more interesting meetings will be organized with, we hope, future young scientists in schools in the country!
Guest speakers of the SEARCH project:
Prof. Veselin Petrov, Head of Laboratory for Development and Characterization of Pharmaceutical Forms and “In Silico” Design at Sofia Tech Park;
Prof. Anelia Yancheva from the Agrobio-Institute at the Agricultural Academy;
Associate Professor Mariyana Radkova from the Agrobio-Institute at the Agricultural Academy;
Metodi Pankov, researcher in the “High-Performance Computing” laboratory of Sofia Tech Park;
Associate Professor Dr. Vladimir Bozukov from the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Studies at the BAS;
chief assistant Silvia Sasheva Petkova from UASG;
Rumyana Dodova from the Center for Molecular Medicine at Medical University-Sofia
Sofia Tech Park is a leading partner in the project SEARCH: SCIENCE + ENVIRONMENT + ART = RESILIENCE. The SEARCH project is an ambitious effort that aims to help popularize science, scientific activity and the profession of a scientist among a wide audience, with an emphasis on adolescents. It aims to encourage more young Bulgarians to engage with career opportunities in the field of scientific research.