One of Türkiye’s longest running national science competitions, the Dr. Ibrahim Arıkan MEF Educational Institutions Research Projects Competition, is opening its doors to young scientists for the 33rd time this year.
Since 1992, the competition has encouraged high school students to conduct scientific research in fields including physics, chemistry, biology and artificial intelligence.
Organizers announced the semifinalist list for the 2026 edition, with 88 projects advancing to the next stage of evaluation.
The semifinalist projects will be reviewed by a jury composed of leading academics from the Turkish scientific community between April 27-29.
Finalist projects will later be exhibited at a private school campus in Istanbul on May 20-21, where the public will be able to visit the exhibition free of charge.
The winners of the competition will be announced during an award ceremony scheduled for May 22.
This year’s competition highlights several emerging scientific and technological fields, including artificial intelligence, sustainability, health technologies and advanced engineering.
Among the key project categories are artificial intelligence and digital transformation, health technologies and biomedical innovation, sustainability and environmental technologies, clean energy, nanotechnology, biotechnology, defense technologies and smart living systems.
The artificial intelligence category focuses on “smart systems and a future powered by data,” while sustainability projects emphasize environmentally compatible technologies and long term climate solutions.
Other categories include agriculture and food technologies, advanced materials, space technologies and human centered digital innovations.
Organizers said the competition aims to strengthen scientific thinking among young people while helping students transform creative ideas into practical research projects.
The Dr. Ibrahim Arıkan MEF Educational Institutions Research Projects Competition was launched to increase interest in scientific research at the high school level and support young people’s innovative potential in Türkiye.
Over the past 32 years, more than 25,000 students have applied to the competition, while nearly 15,000 original projects were submitted.
More than 2,200 projects were selected for exhibition during that period.
Projects emerging from the competition have gone on to achieve success on both national and international platforms. The full list of semifinalist projects is available on the competition’s official website.
