The 2022 International Masterclasses, which began on 11 February with the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, came to a close on 9 April. We are glad to announce that, once more  this year, thousands of students from all over the world participated actively in the masterclasses. Although attendance has started to recover from the effects of the COVID 19 virus, this year still faced some tragic and unexpected obstacles.

 This year we again succeeded in reaching thousands of high school students with countless Masterclasses, where we informed them about modern physics, showed them how fascinating this research is and how curiosity drives physicists to keep pushing the boundaries of knowledge. Uta Bilow

Unfortunately, as previously reported, students from Ukrainian schools were unable to attend what had been planned to be their first Masterclasses. As noted in our statement, “in a world where scientists, teachers and students across the planet have learned to cooperate to understand and solve the most complex problems of our universe, there is no room for war. We hope for a speedy and peaceful conclusion.”

This year did, however, bring the first Masterclasses for both Pakistan and Armenia. On March 28, boys and girls from Pakistan took part in our International Masterclass at Habib University. The event brought lessons of science, international collaboration and inclusiveness to the class, which featured a diverse set of boys and girls together to become scientists for the day.

 In addition to Pakistan, many of the countries this year hosted a significant number of girls. We hope their love of science will grow and that the motivation of these masterclasses will encourage them to consider a career in particle physics or other physical sciences that are sorely lacking female representation.

 

 

During this occasion we also interviewed physicist H. Hoorani, you can find the interview here. Also in Armenia, for the first time, during 4 days at the beginning of March, students attended a workshop that culminated in an international particle physics masterclass. Below we share a symbolic photo capturing the enthusiasm of the students.

A big thanks to all the students and teachers who attended the International Masterclasses during this edition from all over the world. Thanks also to the different press offices from the different countries who dedicated interesting articles to the masterclasses. You can find the articles here.

The masterclasses in particle physics  give students the opportunity to experience a day as a physicist. It begins with a seminar in the morning and moves on to analysis exercises, then concludes with a videoconference moderated by experts in the afternoons. The analysed data are real data from the various experiments that are part of IPPOG (ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, LHCb, Belle II, DESY, KEK, MINERvA, GSI). Videoconferences are monitored by expert physicists, and during this occasion the students and  teachers can ask questions to those who have their hands in particle physics on a daily basis.

With this article, we thank all the moderators who, on a voluntary basis, have helped us carry out the outreach in particle physics around the world. Thanks to Uta Bilow and Kenneth Cecire (International Masterclasses Coordinators) for their work that made this edition possible. We hope to see you all again at the International Masterclasses on Particle Physics 2023 edition.

The benefits of the International Masterclass programme are many. The typically 15-to-19 year-old students get an opportunity to leave the classroom for the day to visit a nearby university or research centre and to discover the world of particle physics. The classes teach them the data-driven methodologies inherent to scientific research, the excitement of discovery and the value of international collaboration. It is our hope that some of these bright young minds will consider a future career in particle physics or a related domain. Even more importantly, it is our goal to instil them with a deeper understanding of science and critical decision making, so they will support fundamental research and become valuable citizens and stewards of our planet. For more information, visit physicsmasterclasses.org.

From here you can see the masterclasses held in your country and, through the contact form, you can request to participate in the future editions (more info on www.ippog.org, Join Us section).

Before concluding, we also remind you that IPPOG’s events have not ended. You can find our calendar updates and follow us on social media (links Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok).

Some notable upcoming events include:

• The 10th anniversary of the discovery of the Higgs boson (4 July, 2022)
• The 25th anniversary of IPPOG (19 Sept, 2022)

And, of course, the International Masterclasses in Particle Physics will be back next year!