A Week Full of Light, Qubits, and Curiosity: Summer School of Young Scientists at the Institute of Physics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences
From July 14 to 18, 2025, the campus of the Slovak Academy of Sciences hosted the Summer School of Young Scientists, organized by All4Science. Among the participating institutes was once again the Institute of Physics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Over the course of five days, we welcomed a group of curious students aged 12 to 18, who enjoyed a rich combination of lectures, experiments, lab tours, and discussions.
On Monday morning, the participants were welcomed at the Institute of Physics by Professor Vladimír Bužek, who, together with Michal Sedlák, gave a brief introduction to the institute’s research activities. After the initial welcome, the students took part in a short quiz that was both fun and educational, helping them learn more about elementary particles. This was followed by an interactive lecture and workshop on light, led by Vadym Shvydkyi, where the students explored what light is and how it behaves when reflected, refracted, diffracted, or interfered.
On Tuesday morning, the program continued with a thematic block focused on light polarization. Our colleague Gabriela Kotúčová prepared two experimental activities – a workshop introducing the basic principles of polarization and an interactive exercise titled The Light Spell: cos²θ, which demonstrated how the intensity of light depends on the angle of the polarizer. In the afternoon, students attended an unconventional lecture by Andrej Liptaj on the physics of music, which combined scientific insights with musical elements. The day concluded with an open discussion where students could ask a wide range of questions – from quarks to careers in science.
On Wednesday, the program at the Institute took place only in the morning and was dedicated to quantum technologies. The day began with a lecture by Vadym Shvydkyi, who introduced the concept of the qubit — the basic unit of quantum information. This was followed by a tour of the state-of-the-art laboratories at the Research Center for Quantum Information (RCQI), where students observed various experiments with photons and qubits and learned more about quantum communication research in Slovakia.
On Thursday, the program continued with visits to other research institutions — the Centre of Advanced Materials Applications, Slovak Academy of Sciences (CEMEA) and the Institute of Chemistry of the SAS. In the afternoon, participants had the chance to try out quantum communication in practice — our colleagues from the Institute of Physics SAS, Gilberto Borges and Saeid Salari, guided the students through generating their own cryptographic key using the BB84 protocol. Later, the program continued with a lecture about CERN prepared by Gabriela Kotúčová, followed by a discussion on particle accelerators as well as personal experiences with international scientific collaboration.
Thursday evening culminated in a joint lecture by Professor Vladimír Bužek, one of Slovakia’s most renowned physicists and a pioneer in the field of quantum theory. The aim of the lecture was not only to spark curiosity among the students but also to emphasize the importance of the language of mathematics as the foundation of scientific thinking. The lecture was both intense and accessible, offering inspiration and prompting many questions even after it ended.
On Friday, the participants of the Summer School dedicated their time to final preparations and poster presentations, in which they summarized what they had learned and experienced throughout the week. The presentations took place at the Institute of Material and Machine Mechanics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, which also co-organized several social activities during the week.
The 2025 Summer School for Young Scientists once again gave talented and curious students the opportunity to experience science up close and proved that even summer holidays can be a time for inspiring learning. We are proud that the Institute of Physics could be part of this event, which not only promotes physics but also motivates the next generation of scientists. We thank all our colleagues who contributed to the programme, and we hope that the experiences gained, new friendships formed, and inspiring encounters will support the young participants in their future scientific paths. The Institute of Physics is already looking forward to next year’s edition!
ChatGPT said:
To carry out the experiments, we used QuTools educational kits, funded by the European Union through the NextGenerationEU initiative under the Slovak Recovery and Resilience Plan. We also thank the Slovak Academy of Sciences for financial support in purchasing the Photonic Explorer Kit and other smaller experimental tools, which enriched the programme and allowed students to experience science in an interactive and playful way.
Fotogaléria:
