The contest’s preliminary selection round was held across various regions of Russia and CIS countries. Following the review of the results of distance and in-person qualifying phases, 36 teams representing 28 of Russia’s regions were brought to Moscow to take part in the final round. In total, they came up with over 1,000 ingenious solutions to unconventional chemistry problems, including SIBUR-suggested problems under the heading of “Smart plastics”.

The contest’s format includes features of both an Olympiad and a conference. Several months before it starts, competitors are offered a package containing 16 open-ended problems with no predefined solution.  Solving each of them requires doing a bit of research that often goes beyond what is covered by a standard school chemistry curriculum. Competitors are asked to prepare their solutions, and once they have passed the selection process, are invited to the in-person part of the contest where they present their solutions, challenge and review each other’s solutions in a mini-conference format.