The pupils were 昀椀rst given an introduction to the na- nosciences in specially prepared short talks. Next, they looked at various posters to learn about di昀昀erent lines of research from the corresponding doctoral students and attended one of the SNC talks. Lastly, the pupils could also choose between four di昀昀erent laboratory tours — in the Departments of Physics or Chemistry, the University Center for Dental Medicine, or the Nano Imaging Lab of the SNI — in order to get an idea of the everyday practical work of nanoscientists. Awards for outstanding achievements At the exhibition booth, various players from the Swiss nano community At the end of this year’s SNC, Professor Christian Schönen- provided information about their activities and products. berger presented 昀椀ve Swiss Nanotechnology PhD Awards on behalf of the Swiss MNT Network for outstanding Insights for pupils 昀椀rst-author publications in the nanosciences by doctoral One highlight on the second day of the conference was students from Switzerland in the past year. the visit by 60 school pupils, who gained insights into the This year’s awards, which were sponsored by the world of the nanosciences as part of the event “TecDay companies Bühler, Kistler, IBM Research Europe, Nano- meets Swiss NanoConvention.” This was organized by surf and nano.swiss, went to Petru P. Albertini (EPFL), the SNI’s outreach team in collaboration with SATW and Chenglian Zhu (Empa/ETH Zürich), Dr. Samuel Mendes received sign-ups from pupils from all over Switzerland. Leitão (EPFL), Marco Coraiola (IBM) and Guanhao Huang (EPFL). Martino Poggio then awarded the prizes for the best poster presented at the SNC (Aura Maria Moreno Echeverri, AMI) and for the two winning entries for the most beautiful images from the nano and microworld (Daniel Mathys, Marcus Wyss, SNI). After an intensive two days of all things nano, Poggio then bid the participants farewell and extended his thanks to the speakers, chairs, sponsors, exhibitors, student assistants, organizers and participants. He also invited those present to save the date of the next Swiss NanoConvention, which will be held at the FHNW Campus in Brugg on 12-13 June, 2025. Sixty Swiss school pupils visited the SNC as part of “TecDay meets Swiss NanoConvention” and gained an insight into the world of science and nanotechnology. At the end of the SNC, 昀椀ve doctoral students (or a representative in their absence) received the Swiss Nanotechnology PhD Award from the “We’re impressed by the scale of the various sponsors. In addition, the prizes for the best poster and the most beautiful picture were announced. Swiss NanoConvention, and we’re learning lots about nanotechnology, which plays a role in a surprisingly large number of areas — there’s still so much to explore.” Ylenia and Elinor, Schaffhausen Cantonal School SNI INSight June 2024 27