Sunflower STEM: English Edition — Ukraine-wide Bilingual STEM Tournament
13–17 yrs · free · 30 January 2027 · KharkivA Ukraine-wide bilingual STEM tournament for student teams in grades 7–11. Three online rounds on Classtime from November to December 2026, a video round in January 2027, and the top 5 teams attend a winter science school in Kharkiv (January 25–30, 2027). Free to enter. Team registration via Google form until November 25, 2026.
- Age
- 13–17 yrs
- Cost
- Free
- Apply by
- 25 November 2026
- When
- 30 January 2027
- Results
- 11 January 2027
- Format
- Online and in person
- Where
- Kharkiv
- Organiser
- sunflower-stem.netlify.app
Tournament Structure
01 Online Rounds (November 30 — December 18, 2026)
Three rounds on the Classtime platform, each lasting one week (Monday–Friday). Teams complete their round at a convenient time, one attempt per round, 60 minutes. Interdisciplinary science tasks: physics, chemistry, geography, biology using maths and English. Progressive English: Round 1 — tasks in Ukrainian, answer options in English; Round 2 — half the tasks in English; Round 3 — all tasks in English.
02 Video Round (December 21, 2026 — January 8, 2027)
The top 40 teams submit a 3–5 minute video in English: a mini-research project, a home experiment, or a science story from their community.
03 Winter Science School (January 25–30, 2027, Kharkiv)
The 5 winning teams (5 students + 1 teacher-mentor per team) travel to Kharkiv. The programme includes workshops (at least 20 hours), daily English immersion, and visits to universities and museums. Organisers cover travel, accommodation, meals, and the programme.
Team Composition and Registration
5 students + 1 teacher-mentor. Registration via Google form by November 25, 2026 (up to 10 teams per school in one form). Within 2 business days, teams receive access codes, instructions, and a glossary with transcription and pronunciation.
What Participants Get
Students: interdisciplinary science tasks, English science vocabulary, individual certificates for all three rounds.
Mentors: instructions, a glossary with transcription and pronunciation, answer keys from the authors, certificate of appreciation.
Schools: free participation with no limit on team numbers, and access to a question bank after the tournament for classroom use.
Organisers
The NGO "YOU ARE TALENT" (Kharkiv) in partnership with the Municipal Institution "Kharkiv Science Lyceum 'Obdarovanist'" under the Kharkiv Regional Council. Tasks are prepared by subject teachers and methodologists based on the curriculum for grades 7–9. Winter school workshops are led by Ruslan Shalamov, winner of the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine 2025.