Board game, escape room, social media challenge – following our call for ideas sent out a few months ago we received numerous entries.  Announcing the competition with our strategic partners (BME, ELTE, SE, SZTE and the Szabolcs Szabó Foundation) we were looking for ideas that can help promote chemistry among pupils aged 12-13 and show them some future prospects chemistry can offer.  
Zsófia Szabó’s and Bettina Árva’s submitted materials received special awards, while the grand prize went to Adrienn Verba. 
Zsófia Szabó is a teacher of biology and chemistry at the Katona József High School in Kecskemét. She teaches in grades 7-11. Zsófia believes that it is much easier to get younger children interested in chemistry. With low number of lessons and a busy curriculum little time is left for experiments, which can partly explain why older pupils lose their interest in chemistry. Having her board game concept recognized was a great success for her as a young teacher. Along her award she also received an invitation to visit the Egis Science and Technology Centre with her class.
Bettina Árva from Debrecen teaches blind and partially sighted students biology and chemistry. Her prize-winning escape room concept can also be implemented digitally – presenting her concept the young teacher emphasized that digitalization could help engaging children effectively, therefore it cannot be overlooked anymore.  “I was looking for an idea that could be connected to both the online space and to chemistry" - she said. Lack of chemicals and equipment often makes it difficult to perform science experiments in schools, so simple experiments that can be done at home can give the children some idea what chemistry is about. speaking about the status of chemistry in schools, she said: " If more transitions between subjects were possible, it would positively affect the popularity of chemistry.” 
„Everything that is bright, loud and explodes" – recalled the grand prize winner Adrienn Verba the answers her acquaintances and family members had given her when she had asked them what they found most interesting in chemistry.  And then they continued:  It's interesting if we do it. “I chose this direction with this in mind” - explained the first-year student of ELTE about the background of her award-winning project titled Dr Egis' Research. Regarding her plans, she too would like to work with disadvantaged children, but she would also be happy to try herself in stronger schools with focus on national competitions. She puts down her motivation to her school experience: "I had a very good chemistry teacher in primary school. What I had learned that helped me to understand how nature works. I would like to teach my students the same way"- she added.
The award ceremony, a closed but festive event, was opened by dr Klára András, HR and Communication Director of Egis. She remembered her own school experiences and pointed out that understanding chemistry means that we can understand the world around us, because everything is chemistry. She thanked the partner- institutions for their contribution to making chemistry as popular as possible.
Dr István Zupkó, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Szeged drew attention to the life-changing effect teachers can have through their profession. “We don't realize - because we can't do it in real time - that we are affecting lives, career choices while we teach." As he said, academic doctoral defences are regular special events at the University of Szeged. "At these defences, even after several decades colleagues regularly express their gratitude to their former teachers for stimulating their interest and setting them on a path that could lead even to an academic doctorate."

Dr Gábor Hornyánszky, Associate Professor of BME, emphasized the importance of raising awareness in youth. He used composting as an example to prove that good practices learned in childhood also affect the behaviour of older people. Praising Zsófia Szabó's concept, the idea of a board game involving different disciplines, including sayings in addition to everyday examples, he pointed out that similar tools can effectively draw the attention of schoolchildren to environmental problems.
Bettina Árva's award was presented by dr István Szalai, Director of the Institute of Chemistry at ELTE TTK. The professor with direct insight into ELTE's teacher training said that year after year fewer students apply to ELTE for chemistry teacher training than would be desired. Speaking about experimentation, he said that it is important to conduct experiments precisely and under controlled conditions – however, thanks to the award-winning concept, the pupils can experience the joy of discovery when they perform safe reactions at home using easily available materials.
The grand prize of the competition was handed over to Adrien Verba by Gabriella Tornóczky, Head of the External and Internal Communications Division and dr Klára András, HR and Communication Director. On behalf of Egis, which celebrates its 110th anniversary this year, they thanked the applicants for their participation and the cooperating partner universities and for their joint work.