AYPT 2026

The Austrian Young Physicists’ Tournament (AYPT) took place between 10 and 12 April 2026. Gimnazija Vič was represented at the competition by two of our students, Izak Roderik Štemberger and Matic Novoselec, with Jure Ausec, one of our physics teachers, as the project mentor. This made up one of only two teams from Slovenia at the event.

In the competition, international teams compete in presenting, opposing, and reviewing different projects which were given to us at the start of the school year. We had to look at the different topics, research them as thoroughly as possible, and be ready to give our own presentations as well as answer questions put to us by the competition jury. For this year, students had to cover two key experiments. The first dealt with sweet monochromators and the second with ring fountains.

The event was held at Montanuniversität Leoben, the Technical University of Leoben, and they did a great job of looking after us during our time there. It was interesting that, despite the high level of pressure within the competition, the atmosphere was kept as relaxed and supportive as possible. This was connected to the ones in charge of the competition at the university and between the different international teams.

We are happy to say that we achieved very promising results in this year’s competition which has led to both students and mentors feeling determined to continue with competitions like these and to compete from an even stronger position in the future.

Izak Roderik Štemberger