Armenia joins Intel International Science and Engineering Fair

Students from Armenian high schools will have an exceptional opportunity this year to share their innovative ideas, for the first time ever, at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

The event, traditionally attracting over 1,800 school students from 75 world countries, will offer a good platform to young Armenian participants to introduce their research ideas (which will be later evaluated in line with international standards).  

The prize fund for winners totals $5 million, according to the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport.

The participants succeeding in the first round will have an opportunity to attend the Intel International Scientific Festival in the United State to compete with representatives from other countries with their projects.The top winner’s prize will be the Gordon Moore Award, which makes up $75,000.

Speaking of Armenia’s active participation, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Arayik Harutyunyan said he expects projects of the kind to raise young Armenians’ interest in science. “Science was, for many years, cut off from the society. This is why very little scientific research had any practical application in real life without any conformity with the existing requirements. Our goal now is to return science to academic institutions to enable our young people to learn doing research from an early age to create something new. Hence in this respect, Armenia’s participation in the Intel Science and Engineering Fair is a great step forward.”

The participants will compete in 22 disciplines, including mathematics, physics, astrology, biochemistry, robotics, etc. The organizers offer prizes also to the second and third winners in the amount of $50,000 for each. Also, separate prizes from $500 to $3,000 are envisaged in a range of disciplines.

The ministry promises to provide further details on the eligibility criteria in a separate statement.