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On 20 May, 2026, the EC2U Science Contest will take place as part of the EC2U Forum in Turku (Finland). This time, researchers and students from Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany), the University Turku, and Umeå University will be competing against each other.

How does a science contest like this work?

The is a fast‑paced, entertaining event where multidisciplinary teams of researchers are given the same question and just a few minutes to agree on an answer before presenting it to the audience. The questions are submitted in advance by the public and can address scientific, societal or ethical issues, as well as curious “what if?” scenarios.

Both the audience and an international jury award points based on clarity, logic, creativity and entertainment value. The event is held in English and will be broadcast online, allowing participation beyond Turku.

The is available to watch on YouTube in its entirety, as well as in a . Recordings of the are also available on YouTube.

From big challenges to everyday curiosity

In previous Science Contests, audience questions have included:

• Why are planets round, but the solar system flat?
• Is it ethically better to eat insects than meat?
• How many balloons would it take to lift an 80‑kg person into the air?
• Could we change our genes to prevent disease – and should we?
• How can the lack of oxygen in the Baltic Sea be controlled?

Your vote matters. Support the Umeå team!

The EC2U Science Contest 2026 will be .

Both the audience present and those online can participate by voting for the best team based on their answers, while a jury awards points to each team for every question.

Members of Team Umeå

Hanna Söderlund
Associate Professor
Language Studies

Jesper Enbom
Associate Professor
Media and Communications

Jerker Fick
Associate Professor
Chemistry

Kristina Lejon
Professor
Immunology

Manju Maharjan
Doctoral student
Plant Physiology