SYPT

The Swiss Young Physicists' Tournament (SYPT) is a Swiss competition, where physics enthusiasts from middle schools from anywhere in Switzerland participate. In a preparatory phase they carry out a small research project, whose results are presented and defended at the actual tournament.

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Participation

Each student in the secondary education stage II who lives in Switzerland can participate at the SYPT. It is easiest if a teach of the corresponding school takes care of the coaching; however, it is not necessary. In the case of questions, we gladly help: Contact us.

Register

Getting Started

  1. Choose one of the current problems.
  2. For ideas on how to start have a look at the Reference Kit.
  3. Read literature about your problem and try to see what could be done that has not already been done.
  4. Investigate the problem using experimental and theoretical methods.
  5. Portray your results in a scientific presentation.

SYPT

In order to give students the opportunity to prepare for the SYPT under optimal conditions independent of their school environment (i.e. independently from their school, infrastructure, rectorate, and teachers), we organize the SYPT Physics Week. We provide competent coaching and superior experimental equipment relevant to their specific problems. This makes it significantly easier for students to participate at the SYPT and enhances their chances at the tournament.

After organizing a virtual event in 2021 and 2022, we are happy to announce that we will be hosting an in-person Physics Week in 2023. The Physics Week 2023 will take place from the 13th to 17th of February at MNG in Zurich.

Interested participants can choose the Physics Week when registering for the SYPT. For more information, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Swiss Young Physicists' Tournament 2022 took place on the 26th and 27th of March at the main building of ETH Zurich. After two years without an in-person tournament, we are delighted to have organized a highly successful in-person tournament.

A total of 30 students in 10 teams participated in this year's tournament and presented their solutions to one of the 17 SYPT problems. In the months leading up to the tournament, they invested a lot of time and effort to prepare for the competition. They planned experiments, evaluated data, and worked on the theoretical foundations of their projects. Additionally, this year students had to cope with the uncertainty of whether an in-person tournament would be possible at all.

"Many schools and teachers were very careful during the pandemic with such alternative teaching formats that mix students from different classes", said Samuel Byland, president of Pro IYPT-CH. "This makes it even better that the students were not dissuaded from taking part and could now show their results in front of the jury."

After three rounds and a final, the winners were clear. Jan Kamm, Joel Tan, and Chengjie Hu won the prize for the best team and Jan Kamm also was first in the individual ranking. The best nine students now have the chance to qualify for the international tournament in Rumania.

Further information including both the individual and team ranking can be found below.

 

Press release

 

Ranking

 

 

Documents and information

 

Time Schedule

Sa, 26th of March:

  • From 08:00:      Registration & welcome coffee (Polysnack HG F 32)
  • 08:30-09:30:     Opening address, team pictures and jury meeting (HG E 3)
  • 09:30-13:00:     Physics Fight Round 1
  • 13:00-14:00:     Lunch (Polysnack HG F 32)
  • 14:00-17:45:     Physics Fight Round 2

Su, 27th of March

  • From 08:00:      Welcome coffee (Polysnack HG F 32)
  • 08:30-12:00:     Physics Fight Round 3
  • 12:00-13:00:     Lunch (Polysnack HG F 32)
  • 13:00-15:45:     Final Fight (HG E 3)
  • 15:45-16:45:     Award ceremony and apéro

Jury and Fight Plan

The 13th time we organized the Swiss Young Physicists' Tournament also marked the first time we held an online tournament. The participants coped well and demonstrated that good virtual Physics Fights are clearly possible.

Amidst a lot of uncertainty, the students prepared for the tournament and we are delighted they could present their work at the SYPT.

 

We would like to thank all the students, coaches, teachers, jurors, volunteers, and organizers for enabling a successful SYPT 2021. We hope to see you at a future (in-person) tournament.

 

Results:

The final team ranking of SYPT 2021 can be found below. "Team Joule" (Jann Kamm and Joel Tan) won the SYPT after beating team "anti-lagrangians" in an entertaining final.

Due to the uncertainty regarding COVID-19 and its impact on the preparations, the SYPT 2021 has been postponed to the 12th of June.

Unfortunately, the SYPT Physics Week cannot be held in person, however, we will offer online coaching to all interested students.

 

Documents and information:

 

 

In light of the rapidly changing situation regarding the Corona virus (COVID-19) and based on ETH internal instructions and recommendations we have decided to cancel the SYPT 2020. We made this difficult decision as the safety and health of our attendees and their social environment is our highest priority.

Furthermore, as we are aware that many of our participants have spent several weeks and months on their projects, it was central for us to make and communicate a final decision as soon as possible. We deeply regret having to inform you of this decision but believe it represents the best option at this point.

As we value the projects of our participants very highly, we invite students to upload a 12-minute video of them presenting their solution. A jury will then deliver a detailed feedback on the solution. Furthermore, based on these videos we will invite up to 15 students to attend a team qualification workshop where the five students for the International Young Physicsts’ Tournament will be selected. All participants will be informed in the coming days.

We would like to thank all attendees for their understanding and hope to see you at a future SYPT.

The Swiss Young Physicists' Tournament 2020 will take place on the 28th and 29th of March in the main building of ETH Zurich. We are happy that we can once again host the SYPT at ETH.

Students can optionally sign up for the SYPT Physics Week where coaches will help them prepare for the SYPT. The Physics Week 2020 will take place from the 10th to 14th of February. Please note that the spots at the Physics Week are limited and not all problems are offered. Please check the Physics Week section for more details.

Registration for the SYPT and SYPT Physics Week is now closed. Over 60 students have signed up for SYPT 2020

 

Documents and information:

The SYPT 2019 was held on the 23rd and 24th of March at the FHNW in Brugg-Windisch. Roughly 70 students presented their projects in front of a jury. After the three preliminary rounds the teams Black Physics, Team Räupli and The Excited Ground States qualified for the final. In a competitive final the team The Excited Ground States consisting of Nicola Widmer, Daniel Gotsmann and Daniel Swingler won the 12th Swiss Young Phyisicists' Tournament. Congratulations to the winners and all our participants for a great tournament!

We would like to thank the FHNW as well as all helpers who made such a successful event possible.

 

Results:

 Results after preliminary fights:

 

More Articles …

  1. SYPT 2019 at the FHNW
  2. SYPT 2018
  3. SYPT 2018 at the University of Basel
  4. SYPT 2017 - The Team "Dead Physicists' Society" Wins The Final
  5. Information for Participants SYPT 2017
  6. Registration is open until 15th January 2017
  7. SYPT 2017 at the EPFL
  8. SYPT 2016 - Results
  9. SYPT 2016 at ETH Zurich
  10. SYPT 2015 at University of Zurich

Subcategories

Physics Week

SYPT 2024

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