Introduction
The “German Physicists’ Tournament” (GPT) is a German-wide student competition on physics problems and the national pre-selection for the “International Physicists’ Tournament” (IPT). The IPT was first hold in Ukraine in 2009. Both GPT and IPT intend to bring together students from various universities, who enjoy physics and solving problems with theoretical methods as well as self-made experiments. The tournaments grew more and more famous and in 2019 there were 18 participating teams from all over the world at the IPT. 17 exciting problems are usually published each year that the participants can work on. After several months of preparation with experimental and theoretical methods as well as simulations, the solutions are presented within a competitive physics fight. The Reporter has 10 minutes to convince the audience of the proper approach of their team to the corresponding problem. Afterwards, the Opponent’s team will point out weak points and shortcomings of the solutions or the interpretation of the problem. The Opponent is supposed to propose possible improvements to the understanding of the problem. A third team joins as a Moderator leading an objective discussion with both parties in which the Opponent’s points are addressed and the Reporter defends their solution. Finally, a jury decides on marks for the performance of Reporter, Opponent and Moderator and the physics fight ends. The best teams will compete for the first place in a final fight. Usually, the winning team will have the chance to represent Germany at the IPT. They will spend an entire week, meeting and competing with other national teams from all over the world. The tournament is hold entirely in English which is why this webpage is in English as well. This way the tournament will not only train your ability for scientific discussions but also your English skills. – –
Getting Started
A list of 17 problems is created every year for the International Physicists’ Tournament IPT. You can favour a theoretical or experimental approach, but keep in mind that a good physicist handles both aspects! If you want to learn more about the IPT problems, please visit the IPT website: https://iptnet.info/problems/.
Who can participate: Bachelor or Master students (no PhD students)
How: For more information, please see the respective sections of this homepage or write an email to info@ipt-germany.info
Costs: There are no charges for participation. In case of competitions in person usually the home university should support traveling and accommodation. However, in case financial support is still necessary, please let us know.
You don’t need to be physicists! Everyone who is passionate about physics, problem-solving or working in teams should participate. Although we recommend having a proper physical background, a team with students of different scientific fields can work just as fine.