Aiming to empower the next generation of scientists and building on its expertise in Artificial Intelligence, the non-profit organisation Science for You (SciFY), in collaboration with the Education Office of the National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos” and with the support of the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, implemented the programme “Students of Natural Sciences: Pioneers in Artificial Intelligence”. The Programme’s goal was to develop Artificial Intelligence skills among students of natural sciences and to connect them with researchers from Greece’s largest research centre, fostering opportunities for collaboration and the implementation of interdisciplinary projects.

In the framework of the Programme, participants were trained in Artificial Intelligence concepts and tools that can be applied to their respective scientific disciplines. They were then invited to work on real-world challenges from their fields, using Artificial Intelligence under the guidance of researchers from NCSR “Demokritos”. The Programme concluded with the implementation of the “Solving Natural Sciences Challenges with AI” Hackathon, during which students presented practical solutions to the problems they had encountered, in collaboration with the 4 Institutes of NCSR “Demokritos”:

1. Institute of Nuclear & Radiological Sciences and Technology, Energy & Safety
2. Institute of Nuclear and Particle Physics
3. Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
4. Institute of Informatics & Telecommunications 

• 132 students completed the online educational programme.
• 31 students participated in the two-day Hackathon held in November 2024 in collaboration with 5 research teams from 4 Research Institutes of the NCSR “Demokritos”.

“I really enjoyed the Artificial Intelligence courses because they were very thorough, dispelling many of the myths that surround this field, and I believe they will help me grow in the future.”

Dimitra Kapoulatou

Final-year student, Department of Physics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

“Through my participation in the Programme, I met very inspiring researchers and people with whom we collaborated. Beyond the wonderful spirit of cooperation we developed, I gained a lot of knowledge about Artificial Intelligence and how it can actually be applied to our lives.”

Agapitos Dovles

Final-year student, Department of Physics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

“The experience of the Challenges was amazing — so much knowledge, wonderful people, and incredible organisers. Absolutely worth it; a one-of-a-kind experience!

Argyro Vraka

Final-year student, Physics Department, University of Ioannina

«I study in Thessaloniki and I came specifically for this Programme — an amazing educational experience for my career as a scientist, in order to see how research really works and how top-tier scientists write code.”

Antonis Kassis

Final-year student, School of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

“A truly great experience — I really enjoyed it! I appreciated the opportunity to network with field experts on such an innovative topic and to gain hands-on experience in modern learning environments.”

Georgios Manakos

Final-year student, Physics Department, University of Ioannina