Aims and Objectives

The European Union (EU) Contest for Young Scientists, an initiative of the European Commission, was set up to promote the ideals of cooperation and interchange between young scientists. The Contest is the annual showcase of the best of European student scientific achievement and as such attracts widespread media interest.

The EU Contest gives students the opportunity to compete with the best of their contemporaries at European level. The young scientists also have the chance to meet others with similar abilities and interests and to be guided by some of the most prominent scientists in Europe. In this way, the Commission seeks to strengthen the efforts made in each participating country to attract young people to careers in science and technology. Only projects that have won a top prize a national young scientist competition, can participate in the EU Contest. Thus, it represents the ultimate goal for more than 30,000 young scientists who compete annually in their national contests.

The first EU Contest took place in Brussels in 1989. Since then, the event has been hosted in Copenhagen, Zürich, Seville, Berlin, Luxembourg, Newcastle upon Tyne, Helsinki, Milan, Porto, Thessaloniki and Amsterdam.

This year from 15-22 September 2001, the 13th EU Contest will take place in Bergen, Norway. Next year Austria will host the 14th EU Contest.

The Contest is part of the EU's Improving Human Potential (IHP) programme (1998-2002). Within the European Commission, the IHP programme is managed by the Research Directorate-General.