Simons Science School in Chemistry and Physics

STEM education and the training of future scientists, innovators, and high-tech entrepreneurs play a key role in Ukraine's future recovery. The Ukrainian education system excels at identifying gifted youths and at nurturing them in specialised STEM schools and a highly-developed culture of science olympiads and research competitions. This experience should be studied and supported at the highest level, recognizing it as a national asset. Collaborative projects in STEM education between Ukraine and the EU will be to everyone's benefit and promote Ukraine's further integration into the EU.

The Simons Science School in Chemistry and Physics is a one-week program for Ukrainian high school students who have excelled at science competitions. The goal is to foster the students’ interest in science, to introduce them to potential research careers, and to inspire them to apply their talents to shape Ukraine’s future. During their week in Vienna, participants will engage with cutting-edge research groups of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Science and Technology Austria, the University of Vienna, and TU Wien.

The participants of the Vienna Science School in Physics and Chemistry are recruited from two of Ukraine’s most successful science high schools: the Ukrainian Physics and Mathematics Lyceum in Kyiv and the Lviv Physics and Mathematics Lyceum.

Vienna Science School 2023

(c) Adam Cooper

Program

Sunday, September 8

11:30 Arrivals in Vienna
11:30 - 13:00 Check-in at Hotel Geblergasse
13:30 - 14:30 Lunch at Pizzeria Riva
14:30 - 18:30 Free time, sports on Donauinsel with Vladyslav Heraskevych
19:00 - 20:00 Dinner at Centimeter

Monday, September 9

07:30 - 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
10:00 - 11:00 Presentation «Smart City Vienna» by Stadt Wien
12:30 - 13:30 Lunch at the Cafeteria of the University of Vienna
14:00 - 16:00 Research group Climate Dynamics and Modeling, University of Vienna
16:30 - 18:00 Guided tour of Vienna's city center with Kateryna Kinsel
18:00 - 19:00 Dinner at GRND Restaurant

Tuesday, September 10

Visit to the Institute of Science and Technology Austria.

07:30 - 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
09:00 Arrival to ISTA
09:15 - 10:00 Research group Materials Electrochemistry
10:00 - 10:30 Coffee break
10:30 - 11:15 Research group Emergent electronic phenomena in 2D materials
11:15 - 12:00 Panel discussion «From Olympiads to Research» with Prof. Maksym Serbyn and PhD student Dmytro Kolisnyk
12:00 - 13:00 Lunch at ISTA's cafeteria
13:00 - 14:00 Campus tour organized by VISTA
14:00 - 15:00 Research group Quantum Dynamics and Condensed Matter Theory
15:00 - 17:00 Hike to Klosterneuburg
18:00 - 19:00 Dinner at ESI, prepared by GRND Restaurant
19:30 - 21:00 Board games with developer Markus Slawitschek

Wednesday, September 11

07:30 - 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
09:00 - 12:00 Atominstitut, TU Wien
13:00 - 14:00 Lunch at the Cafeteria of the University of Vienna
14:30 - 16:30 Research group Physics of Nanostructured Materials, University of Vienna and research group Bioinspired Structuring of MOFs and Nanomaterials, University of Vienna
16:30 - 19:00 Free time, e.g., visit to Belvedere Palace
19:00 - 20:00 Dinner at ESI, prepared by GRND Restaurant

Thursday, September 12

07:30 - 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
09:00 - 12:00 Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Austrian Academy of Sciences
12:30 - 13:30 Lunch at the Cafeteria of the University of Vienna
14:30 - 16:00 Lecture «Machine Learning in Chemistry» by Dr. Esther Heid, TU Wien
16:00 - 19:00 Free time, e.g., Naturhistorisches Museum and Kunsthistorisches Museum
19:00 - 19:30 Dinner at ESI, prepared by GRND Restaurant
19:45 - 21:00 Mafia night at ESI

Friday, September 13

07:30 - 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
09:00 - 11:00 Institute of High Energy Physics, Austrian Academy of Sciences
13:00 - 14:00 Lunch
14:30 - 16:00 United Nations Office and International Atomic Energy Agency
- Guided tour
- Meeting with Ukrainian diplomats
16:00 - 17:00 Free time in Donaupark
18:00 - 20:00 Dinner with scientists at Centimeter

Saturday, September 14

07:30 - 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
09:00 - 12:00 Guided tour of Schönbrunn Palace with Kateryna Kinsel
13:00 - 14:00 Lunch
14:30 - 16:30 Free time in Prater and on the campus of the Vienna University of Economics and Business
18:00 - 19:00 Dinner

Sunday, September 15

07:30 - 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
09:00 - 12:00 Free time, e.g., visit to Albertina
12:30 - 13:30 Lunch at Pizzeria Riva
16:30 Departure to Ukraine