NCFU announced the outcomes of the regional Falling Walls Lab contest of breakthrough ideas, where the participants came to lock horns fighting for a chance to present their projects at the major conference to be held in Berlin (Germany).

The Falling Walls Lab contest was launched to mark the 20^th anniversary of the Berlin Wall collapse and is aimed at destroying obstacles to solving socially meaningful problems. The project was initiated by the German DAAD Service for Academic Exchange and has enjoyed support from the German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, offering young researchers a platform to present their initiatives to the entire world. This year 42 applications were submitted with only 17 candidates advancing to the regional stage.

Each participant was given no more than three minutes to present and explain the value of their project, and the ideas were diverse – from the area of History and Economics to Nanoengineering, etc.

As a result, the expert jury decided to award the first prize to Tigran Ambartsumov (student, Institute of Life Science, NCFU) who will now travel to Berlin.

– My idea focuses on the development of an innovation-based technology for stimulating field seed germination and crop growth through infrasound processing and chelate complexes. This technology is to help intensify germination and enhance the yield of crops, as well as reduce crop losses during dry years, - the winner was quoted as saying.

The second place was shared by Zara Visitaeva (student, Pyatigorsk State University), Mukhamed Mohsen (Pyatigorsk Medical and Pharmaceutical Institute, branch of Volgograd State Medical University) and Dzhabrail Bamatov (Grozny State Oil Technical University).