Jonk Fuerscher: the springboard for tomorrow’s scientists

Almost 100 participants in the 2024 competition, every entrant won a prize in the form of a science experience

One of the winners of the National Jonk Fuerscher Contest, Frida Thorsteinsdottir, will attend Cop29 in Azerbaijan this November, joining the delegation from the Ministry of Environment with the chance to showcase her project on how seawater temperature and depth affect the migration behaviour of wild sea trout in southeast Iceland.

The competition, now in its 53rd year, is run by the Young Scientist Foundation Luxembourg, and offers young science enthusiasts the opportunity to present their work to a carefully selected local jury and then on the international stage.

“The aim is to propose a platform of non-formal education in science for students aged 11 to 21 years,” said the Foundation’s director Sousana Eang.

All students resident in Luxembourg and enrolled in a school approved by the Ministry of Education can enter a research or project idea within the fields of science and technology, either individually or in a team of up to three.

“Youngsters are free to choose their domain - whether it’s mathematics, biology or social science, so long as it is treated in a scientific way. We invite them to present their project to an expert jury covering varying disciplines from engineers, biologists, mathematicians and even communication experts,” explained Eang. 

Serge Quazotti, director of Luxembourg’s intellectual property institute, has been president of the jury since 2018, which also includes Thomas Schoos, director general for international, European and internal affairs at the Ministry of the Environment. This year the jury also comprised several university professors, engineers and pharmacists.

The jury’s job is to matchmake the various participants with the prizes, where the most important experiences go to the best projects.

Some prize-winners attend conferences and symposiums as far afield as China, Taiwan and Tunisia, such as Krzesimir Hyżyk, who went on to compete at the prestigious Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (Isef) hosted in the US for his project on engineering.

“The accuracy of matchmaking appropriate prizes with projects shows because we are winning a lot of prizes at these bigger competitions. Krzesimir Hyżyk came third at Isef, which is a huge achievement,” said Eang.