From a balance bike with a remote-controlled braking function, the sustainable use of eggshells as a paper substitute, the impact of sweeteners on the human body, to the detection of cocaine in wastewater and artificial intelligence as a cashier assistant in supermarkets, to genetic algorithms in drones: For the fields of the working world, biology, chemistry, geosciences, mathematics/informatics, physics, and technology, students have submitted 63 projects at the 59th Regional Youth Research Competition in Munich-West, which they want to present to the jury. The winners in each area qualify for the state competition.
For information: There are approximately 120 regional competitions in Germany. The respective first-placed participants in each discipline qualify for the state competition. Whoever wins there goes to the finals at the federal level.
"Those who research have the potential to change something"
In addition, 20 special prizes are awarded to young researchers. They were donated, among others, by the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers, and the magazine Stern. Special highlights, in addition to prizes such as participation in an environmental robot workshop, for special solutions in the areas of climate protection, environmental technology, and resource efficiency, are likely to be the "Nomination for the Bavarian Research School of the Year," which is endowed with 3,000 euros.
"Those who research have the potential to change something": Prof. Angela Schöllig, Prof. Daniel Rixen, Prof. Eckehardt Steinbach, and Prof. Sami Haddadin from the Board of Directors of the Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MIRMI) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are convinced of this. "Creative minds and hands-on personalities" are more in demand than ever, according to the researchers from MIRMI, which is hosting the competition for the fifth time in a row.