The Fondation Jeunes Scientifiques Luxembourg (FJSL) announced in a press release that for the very first time, the organisation was represented by a team of aspiring scientists, composed of Anna, Kajal and Jennifer, at the “Step into the Future” forum in Moscow – the most important scientific youth forum in Russia.
For their project “Degradation of plastic polymers using genetically modified bacteria”, Jennifer Michael (17), Anna Batmanova (18), and Kajal Karki (19) from the Lycée Michel Lucius came up with an idea to reduce plastic pollution by using genetically modified E-coli. Their hypothesis is that the culture of modified Escherichia coli containing both the PETase and MHETase enzymes will work most efficiently at breaking down PET, in comparison to the other cultures, which only contained one of the enzymes.
Despite presenting merely a theoretical project - since they didn’t have access to a laboratory and the necessary equipment because of the current situation- the three students managed to impress the jury of the National Jonk Fuerscher Contest and were thus awarded the first ever “Step Into The Future”-prize.
International Online Forum of Scientific Youth
The 2021 edition of “Step Into The Future” was already the 2nd virtual one and welcomed participants from 23 countries, all the way from Bulgaria to Zimbabwe. The program included the exhibition of the best projects of young Russian researchers and their peers from all over the world, the National Festival of Young Couturiers and Designers, and lectures from leading Russian scientists for the participants to attend.
“Step Into The Future was a new experience as we got to see so many participants from around the world with interesting ideas and their application into the real world even during this pandemic. It was truly inspirational.”, so Jennifer.
The “Step into the Future” Forum is organized by the Bauman Moscow State Technical University (BMSTU) and the Russian Youth Engineering Society. The Forum program includes the Exhibition of the best projects of young Russian researchers and their peers from abroad. Information about the «Step into the Future» Program and its activities is available on the website: www.step-into-the-future.ru
