HSE University Hosts Finals of TESLA Intellectual Competition for Secondary School Students
With 2,676 participants from 554 Russian cities and towns, 8,500 sets of assignments, and ten winners, this year’s TESLA competition was a major event. The finals saw the top 200 students meet at the HSE Faculty of Pre-University Training to try their hand at subjects ranging from computer science and natural science to social science. The award ceremony took place on May 28.
The annual TESLA competition is a unique event for 5th–8th-graders. Its name stands for five subject areas: T—technology and computer technology; E—entrepreneurship; S—science; L—linguistics and literature; A—art and design.
TESLA is organised in two stages: the first is held online, and the second is on-site. The format means that school students from all over Russia can participate, and this year’s participants came from cities and towns all over the country.
Irina, mother of a finalist
The assignments in every field were thrilling. We live in a rural area, and my son goes to a public school. The invitation to the final stage came as a big surprise. He worked hard to demonstrate his best knowledge. Of course, he couldn’t solve all the tasks, but there is room for improvement, and now we can analyse our mistakes.
The most popular field in this year’s first stage was computer technology, which had a total of 2,000 participants. But somewhat unexpectedly, the most popular discipline in the finals was art and design.
Next year, TESLA winners will be able to study at the HSE Faculty of Pre-University Training for free and participate in an extramural summer school for 7th-8th-graders.
The TESLA competition was a complex and intense event not only for the contestants, but for the organisers too.
Vera Kopylova, creator of biology assignments in the Natural and Social Sciences discipline, member of the teaching and learning committee, visiting lecturer at the HSE Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology
This competition turned out to be phenomenally interesting. There aren’t many high-quality competitions and conferences for secondary school students, and this one was held for the first time. The assignments allow participants to reason, to demonstrate their logic or suggest something completely new. For example, they had to invent and describe an experiment in the biology assignment. I am happy that I had a chance to participate in this competition, and I’m looking forward to next year.
See also:
HSE University and Tinkoff Sign Strategic Partnership Agreement
HSE University and Tinkoff have signed an agreement on strategic cooperation on the development of secondary education in Russia. The cooperation will be implemented as part of the ‘Developing intellectual competitions’ project within HSE University’s strategic development programme.