Support the National Sci High Science Fest 2026

The National Sci High STEM Fest 2026 took place on June 7, 2026, at the Faculty of Biology of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski," which proudly hosted the event for the fifth consecutive year. Sponsored by IBM Bulgaria, which provided the grand award, this year's festival brought together 48 students forming 13 teams across 6 schools and 5 Bulgarian cities. The initiative served as a premier platform for secondary school students to demonstrate practical scientific methodology, engineering creativity, and social awareness.

As part of the festival activities, a specialized workshop was organized on the preceding day by the MIT Edgerton Center for participating students and teachers. Designed to foster design thinking and engineering mindsets, the hands-on session provided practical tools and frameworks for solving complex technical problems. Building on the momentum and enthusiasm generated by this workshop, we hope to launch new student clubs with a dedicated focus on design and engineering starting in the upcoming academic year.

Participating projects competed across three main categories, evaluated by an expert jury and the attending public. In the Engineering Design discipline, eight teams were assessed on problem identification, design methodology, technical reasoning, and practical prototyping. Thirteen teams presented at interactive exhibition booths where rigor, topic relevance, and teamwork were evaluated. Finally, nine teams delivered live presentations before an audience, judged on research quality, innovative solutions, and execution under tight time constraints.

A total of six major awards were conferred, recognizing outstanding technological and ecological solutions. The festival's highest honor, the Grand Sci High Award supported by IBM Bulgaria, alongside the Category Award for Best Booth (achieving an 85% score), went to the "Azoto-Kneja" team from the "Stefan Tsanov" Professional High School of Agriculture in Kneja. Their project isolated local Azotobacter chroococcum bacteria and cultivated them in a school bioreactor to produce a bio-inoculant, which successfully increased root length by up to 100% in crops such as corn, sunflower, wheat, and tomato.

The Audience Choice Award was granted to the "VIVORA" team from "St. Cyril and Methodius" High School in Kozloduy for an innovative modular building renovation framework. Their dynamic facade design integrates Voronoi structures, green walls, photovoltaics, and rainwater collection into an adaptive, energy-efficient building envelope. In the Engineering Design category, team "Air IMPROVERS" from SoftUni BUDITEL in Sofia secured top honors with a score of 63% for developing a roof-mounted electrostatic precipitator for urban buses, converting public transport into active filtration units for particulate matter.

The Category Award for Best Presentation (77% score) was awarded to team "NO FILTER" from "Stefan Tsanov" High School in Kneja for their research into digital health misinformation among teenagers, which included creating a dedicated anti-misinformation chatbot and podcast series. Furthermore, the Special Award for Most Promising Team (Grades 5-7) was bestowed upon the "Hydroponics" team from "Hristo Smirnenski" Primary School in Stroevo for their research and educational outreach on soil-free agriculture as a sustainable alternative to conventional farming.

The Sci High STEM Fest 2026 successfully demonstrated the profound impact of donor support in fostering youth innovation, problem-solving capabilities, and scientific literacy. By bridging classroom theory with real-world applications, the program continues to empower the next generation of researchers, engineers, and civic leaders

Links:

• Sci High STEM Fest 2026