Competition and Evaluation
The materials on the competition are disseminated to all the countries via diplomatic channels. The competition is also advertised in different physics magazines for pupils and teachers. (Every year about 30 articles on the First Step are published in different countries). Also, different private channels are used. In the first eight competitions the pupils from 67 countries participated.
The criteria used when evaluating the papers submitted are geared towards an adult standard; no special consideration is given for the younger age of the participants. There are no prizes such as would be seen in other school-based competitions (cameras, electronics, financial rewards, etc.). Instead, the winners are invited to the Institute for one month for research stays (usually in November). During the stays, they are involved into real research works going on in the Institute. Each year the proceedings with all of the awarded papers are published.
Read more about this topic: First Step To Nobel Prize In Physics
Famous quotes containing the words competition and/or evaluation:
“The praise of ancient authors proceeds not from the reverence of the dead, but from the competition and mutual envy of the living.”
—Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679)
“Evaluation is creation: hear it, you creators! Evaluating is itself the most valuable treasure of all that we value. It is only through evaluation that value exists: and without evaluation the nut of existence would be hollow. Hear it, you creators!”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)