Physics, Earth Sciences and Mathematics Section

Call for Papers
38th National Student Research Conference
Physics, Earth Sciences and Mathematics Section

1. General Information, Organizers

Organizer of the event:

Obuda University

Section website address: https://fifoma.uni-obuda.hu
Section e-mail address: oe.fifoma2027@uni-obuda.hu
Date of the event: April 6–9, 2027

The National Association for Student Research, the OTDT Physics, Earth Sciences and Mathematics Section Committee, and the organizing Obuda University hereby announce the 38th National Student Research Conference for the Physics, Earth Sciences, and Mathematics Section under the conditions specified in the following call.

The conditions for participation and registration in the Physics, Earth Sciences and Mathematics Section of the 38th OTDK are set out in the General Call of the 37th OTDK as well as in this Call and its Supplements from the OTDT Physics, Earth Sciences and Mathematics Section.

2. Eligibility Criteria

2.1.1. Who is eligible to participate

In the 37th OTDK Physics, Earth Sciences, and Mathematics (FiFöMa) Section, those TDK papers and authors may participate that meet the detailed requirements outlined in the General Call of the National Association for Student Research and its Supplement 2, and whose TDK papers also satisfy the conditions specified in the Physics, Earth Sciences, and Mathematics Section’s call and its Supplement 1.

Participation of TDK papers in the FiFöMa Section of the 38th OTDK is approved by the OTDT Physics, Earth Sciences and Mathematics Section Committee at its January 2027 meeting. The acceptance of TDK papers is decided on the basis of the professional and formal criteria set out in the documents listed above.

2.1.2. Multi-author TDK papers

Each TDK paper can have up to two authors. If a TDK paper has two authors, it can only be presented if both authors are registered for the 38th National Student Research Conference (OTDK) and both participate in the presentation of the TDK paper (Supplement 1 of the Section Call). Force majeure cases must be reported to the Organizing Committee (oe.fifoma2027@uni-obuda.hu). The decision is made by the Chair of the Section Committee.

2.2. Participation of secondary school students

2.2.1. Secondary school students qualified for the 38th OTDK

Secondary school students who have obtained eligibility for the OTDK compete in the panels of the FiFöMa Section in accordance with the detailed conditions set out in Supplement 2 to the OTDT General Call, under the same evaluation criteria as university students. Eligibility may be obtained at an institutional TDK conference of a higher education institution approved by the OTDT, or at secondary school competitions listed in Supplement 4 to the General Call.

2.2.2. Participation of non-qualified secondary school students

For further secondary school students from Hungary and abroad the Physics, Earth Sciences, and Mathematics Section organizes a High School Student Conference as an additional OTDK program. Those who did not qualify for the National Student Research Conference (OTDK) may participate in the Physics, Earth Sciences and Mathematics High School Student Conference with their application, under the conditions of the student research competition announced by the organizing institution (Section Call, Supplement 2). (Participation in the program does not constitute participation in the OTDK.)

2.3. Content and format requirements for participation

Supplement 1 of the Section Call contains the content and format requirements for TDK papers and abstracts, the rules for presenting papers in foreign languages, the regulations for the use of artificial intelligence, and a detailed description of the supplementary documents to be uploaded.

3. Assignment of TDK papers to sessions

The OTDT Physics, Earth Sciences, and Mathematics Section Committee assigns the submitted TDK papers to sessions containing at least six and at most eleven papers on similar topics, based on their subject and number. For this categorization, during the registration period, authors of TDK papers are requested to indicate the thematic category to which they believe their work belongs in the OTDT online system. The list of possible themes is provided in Supplement No. 3 of the Section Call.

The final sessions of the 38th (OTDK) will not necessarily match the announced thematic categories. New sessions may be created from these, based on organizational and professional criteria. The final decision on the sessions and the classification of the TDK papers will be made by the Physics, Earth Sciences and Mathematics Section Committee in collaboration with the Organizing Committee. Students will be informed of this decision via the OTDT online system by February 4, 2027 at the latest.

4. Application procedure

4.1. Application steps

The method of application and the requirements for submission are detailed in Supplement 2 of the General Call for the 38th OTDK. A TDK paper progresses through four steps to qualify for participation in the OTDK: institutional qualification, TDK paper upload, application, and acceptance of the TDK paper.

The deadline for uploading the TDK paper is 30 days from receipt of the email sent by the OTDT after the local round, but no later than January 13, 2027.

ATTENTION! Uploading a TDK paper does not constitute an entry to the 38th OTDK. Registration must be completed during the registration period

between November 16, 2027, and January 13, 2027, 16:00 (CET).

Deadline for finalizing applications: January 13, 2027 (Wednesday), 16:00 (CET)

The exact list of documents to be uploaded during registration is provided in Supplement 1 of the Section Call. After the registration deadline for students, it will no longer be possible for students to upload any documents in the OTDT online system.

4.2. Supplementary application tasks for students who have obtained a pre-degree certificate, who are expected to obtain a pre-degree certificate in the semester of application, and who are submitting multiple TDK papers

If any of the statuses specified in Section 4.2 apply to any of the authors of the TDK paper, the procedures set out in Section 4.2 of Supplement 2 to the General Call of the 38th OTDK, as well as in Section 4.2 of Supplement 1 to the Section call, must be followed.

5. Tasks of the TDT Chair in relation to the 38th OTDK

5.1. Following the student research conference:

Uploading of the XML-format minutes of the institutional TDK conference and the scanned version of the signed minutes to the OTDT online system (or, in the latter case, submission to the OTDT Secretariat) in accordance with Section 3 of Supplement 2 to the General Call of the 38th OTDK.

5.2. Following the participants’ registration deadline:

Approval of applications in the OTDT online system. All registrations are automatically approved in the system, so action is only required if the institution/faculty does not wish to delegate a submitted TDK paper to the 38th OTDK.

Approval in the OTDT online system of the consolidated list containing the approved applications of TDK papers and their authors submitted to the Physics, Earth Sciences and Mathematics Section, and/or its generation from the online system and signature with a qualified electronic signature, or printing and signing, followed by electronic upload to the OTDT online system. By approving/signing the consolidated list, the TDT Chairs also declare that all TDK papers and their authors included therein meet the requirements set out in Supplement 2 to the General Call of the 38th OTDK.

On the consolidated list, Faculty TDK-referents must declare information about students who have obtained their pre-degree certificates and doctoral students, based on the student’s written declaration at the local qualifying round regarding the substantial differences between their thesis/diploma project and the TDK paper.

Deadline for institutional and faculty TDT Chairs to upload documents to the OTDT online system: January 18, 2027 (Monday) 16:00 (CET). After the deadline it will no longer be possible to upload application documents in the OTDT online system.

We are unable to accept TDK papers that are submitted after the deadline or do not meet the requirements outlined in the Section Call; such applications will be rejected. Individual or independently submitted registrations are invalid.

6. Criteria for the evaluation of the application, delivery and assessment of the presentation

To emphasize the presentation of original results and facilitate professional discourse, the Physics, Earth Sciences and Mathematics Section Committee assigns equal weight to the evaluation of the TDK paper, the oral presentation, and the discussion.

Please read carefully the presentation and evaluation criteria in Supplement 4 of the Section Call!

7. The awards that can be granted at the OTDK and the Special Prize of the Session Panel

The detailed regulations on placements, Session Panel special prizes, and awards that may be granted at the 38th OTDK are set out in Supplement 3 to the General Call of the 38th OTDK. At the 38th OTDK, ranked awards (1st, 2nd, 3rd place) based on the written reviews and oral performance may be granted, as well as a Session Panel special award following these in rank. At most one 1st place may be awarded per session.

Participation in the FiFöMa High School Student Conference, organized in parallel with the OTDK Conference, does not count as participation in the OTDK, and therefore their placements and awards do not belong to the session results of the OTDK conference.

8. Submission of Pro Scientia Gold Medal application

The authors of TDK papers that have been awarded first place at the OTDK may apply for the Pro Scientia Gold Medal, provided they meet the additional criteria set out in the call. Details are given in Supplement 5 of the 38th OTDK General Call.

We invite and welcome all interested students and their masters!

Budapest, 21 April 2026.

SUPPLEMENT 1 TO THE CALL FOR PAPERS
38TH OTDK
PHYSICS, EARTH SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS SECTION

1. The language of the TDK paper and the presentation

The language of the OTDK is Hungarian, as specified in the General Call. Based on the experience gathered by the organizers of the Physics, Earth Sciences, and Mathematics Section over previous years, the ideas that the authors intended to present were much more clearly expressed in TDK papers written in their native language. Experience shows that English is the preferred language in some fields; however, the Section Committee does not wish to disadvantage students who do not yet have sufficient proficiency in English. In this spirit, we ask Hungarian-speaking applicants to submit TDK papers and presentations in Hungarian.

However, students may choose to participate in the student conference with an English-language TDK paper. Non-native Hungarian-speaking authors studying at a higher education institution in Hungary, or Hungarian authors studying abroad in a non-Hungarian language, may do so without providing a separate justification. Hungarian native-speaking students studying in Hungary, as well as Hungarian native-speaking students studying abroad in Hungarian-language programs are subject to the requirement set out in Section 4.4. For non-native Hungarian-speaking authors, the language of the presentation and discussion may also be English, while for native Hungarian speakers, the language of the presentation and discussion is Hungarian.

2. Content requirements for the TDK paper

a) The conference will be open to TDK papers from the fields of physics, earth sciences and mathematics and their environmental, methodological and technical links, with a scientific interest and prepared for this purpose.

b) The TDK paper reports on the participants’ own scientific research. The TDK paper contains original research results that have been reviewed and accepted by the Section Panel of an institutional student research conference approved by the National Association for Student Research.

c) The students’ research workshops were not part of the curricular tasks. Term papers, field practice reports, master’s or integrated master’s program theses, and diploma projects without additional work may not be presented. Therefore, the Physics, Earth Sciences and Mathematics Section Committee does not accept TDK papers whose qualification occurred in the semester of obtaining the pre-degree certificate in a master’s or integrated master’s program, and where the scientific research questions of the two papers are not distinct from each other. This does not apply to TDK papers based on theses defended in MA/MSc programs; therefore, they may be presented at student research conferences during MA/MSc studies, qualifying them for the OTDK. In case of doubt, it is recommended to seek the opinion of the Chair of the Physics, Earth Sciences and Mathematics Section Committee before submitting the TDK paper.

All TDK papers submitted to the OTDK are subject to a plagiarism check, which is evaluated by a three-member special committee set up by the Section Committee, and they review the results of the plagiarism check one by one. We specifically draw the attention of applying students to the fact that plagiarism is not permitted in any form; even one’s own works (other reports, master’s thesis, or thesis written in an integrated master’s program) may not be cited without proper referencing (prohibition of self-plagiarism). TDK papers that are proven to infringe copyright will be excluded from the OTDK by the OTDT, with simultaneous notification to the nominating institution.

d) Submission of a publication submitted before the uploading of the TDK paper without substantial modification is not considered as a student research project, therefore it will not be accepted as TDK paper in the OTDK Physics, Earth Sciences and Mathematics Section.

e) The title of the TDK paper uploaded for the OTDK must be the same as the one given at the institutional qualifying student research conference. The content of the two papers may differ in some details, mainly due to changes suggested by the Session Panel of the institutional student research conference, but the scientific questions of the two papers should be the same.

3. Formal requirements for the TDK paper:

TDK papers that exceed the maximum length pf 60 pages cannot be uploaded to the OTDT online system.

• TDK papers must be uploaded in PDF format.
• The maximum file size of the TDK paper is 10 MB.
• Guideline typographic parameters:
• Font: Times New Roman
• Font size: 12
• Margin: 2.5 cm
• A printed TDK paper is not required.

4. Declarations and supplementary documents

4.1. Mandatory declaration for all applicants

All applicants are required to upload a separate declaration (“Own Results” supplement) to the OTDT online system, in which they present their own results. In this document, the author must present a list-style summary of their own results and the work they have carried out, with a maximum length of one page.

This should list:

• the scientific (sub-)question that the participant has solved themselves;
• methods that they personally applied or used to conduct their own measurements;
• the results they have obtained themselves.

These must be clearly distinguished from results in the literature, from partial results obtained by other members of the research team, correctly reproduced and cited.

4.2. Additional tasks for students who have obtained a pre-degree certificate or are expected to obtain a pre-degree certificate in the semester of registration

4.2.1. If any author of the TDK paper obtained their pre-degree certificate in a master’s or integrated master’s program before January 13, 2027, or will obtain it in the semester of submission, the affected students must, in accordance with Section 4.2 of Supplement 2 to the General Call of the 38th OTDK, declare in the OTDT online system the date of obtaining or the expected date of obtaining their pre-degree certificate.

4.2.2. All students covered by Section 4.2.1 must upload a separate document (“Thesis Deviation Supplement”) to the OTDT online system, in which they present the differences between their thesis/diploma work and the submitted TDK paper. A “Thesis Deviation Supplement” must be prepared if any author obtained or will obtain a pre-degree certificate in a master’s or integrated master’s program in the semester of qualification (local round). For bachelor’s theses, this declaration is not required.

In this 1-2-page declaration, the participant affected by the pre-degree certificate must present the essential differences between their thesis/diploma project and the TDK paper, including a detailed comparison of the scientific research questions, methods used, and results obtained.

If the “Thesis Deviation Supplement” does not clearly establish the distinction between the thesis/diploma project and the TDK paper, the Section Committee and the Organizing Committee may request the submission of the thesis/diploma project after registration but before acceptance of the TDK paper.

The TDK paper is considered an outcome beyond mandatory academic work (which is a basic requirement) if its scientific purpose addresses a different question than the thesis/diploma project. The two research questions must be fundamentally different, with each paper addressing distinct problems.

A bachelor’s thesis written within a BA/BSc program and presented at an institutional student research conference within the same BA/BSc program or during a subsequent master’s program — provided it meets the requirements stated in the call and supplements — can be submitted to the 38th OTDK Conference without additional registration requirements.

4.3. Presentation of differences when submitting multiple TDK papers

4.3.1 During the qualification period at institutional/faculty student research conferences, multiple TDK papers may explore the same topic. In cases where successive TDK papers on the same topic are presented at consecutive student research conferences, they must be submitted in the form of an advanced TDK paper. In such cases, the first submitted TDK paper does not need to be submitted to the 38th OTDK; instead, the second qualified paper, the advanced TDK paper, should include a summary of the entire research period.

4.3.2 If a participant enters the 38th OTDK with two or more TDK papers, there must be a substantial difference between the papers. The required difference is the difference in the scientific questions and problems addressed and examined in the TDK paper. In such cases, a “TDK Difference” supplementary file must be uploaded to the OTDT online system for each paper.

In this supplementary file, at least one page in length, the student must detail and justify the differences between the scientific questions and problems examined in each TDK paper, explaining the methodological, investigative, and research differences. This requirement also applies if one or more of the TDK papers submitted by the participant have multiple authors.

4.4. Hungarian students in Hungary or abroad in Hungarian-language programs preparing TDK papers in English

If a native Hungarian-speaking student studying in Hungary or a native Hungarian-speaking student studying in a Hungarian-language program abroad chooses to prepare their TDK paper in English, they are required to include a three-page summary in Hungarian as part of the paper. This summary must cover the research problem, the methodology used, and the results obtained.

5. Multiple-author TDK papers

The aim of the OTDK movement is to compare the achievements of the most talented students against a common set of scientific standards. This can be difficult with a large student research team and individual participants, as teamwork between really talented students inevitably leads to more results.

Therefore, each TDK paper can have up to two authors. If a TDK paper has two authors, it can only be presented if both authors are registered for the 38th National Student Research Conference (OTDK) and both participate in the presentation of the TDK paper. Force majeure cases must be reported to the Organizing Committee (oe.fifoma2027@uni-obuda.hu). The decision is made by the Chair of the Section Committee.

TDK papers with more than two authors that obtained eligibility prior to the publication of the call will be accepted by the Section Committee; however, in such cases all authors must attend the OTDK session at which the paper is presented.

6. Use of artificial intelligence

A fundamental requirement of a TDK and an OTDK paper is that they constitute the intellectual work of the author(s). If the use of AI determines the quality of the TDK paper to such an extent that it can no longer be regarded as the author’s intellectual work, the paper does not meet the fundamental professional and ethical requirements of the TDK. Further detailed information is provided in Supplement 6 of the General Call of the 38th OTDK.

Text or figures generated by artificial intelligence must be properly cited; if they are included without attribution (e.g. in a footnote), this will be treated as plagiarism. The use of AI as a co-author in the preparation of an OTDK paper is prohibited.

7. Rules for the abstract

Only the main text of the abstract needs to be uploaded to the OTDT online system, names of authors and supervisors, institution, etc. are generated by the online system.

Language of the abstract: the same as the language of the TDK paper.

The abstract should be at least 500 and no more than 2,500 characters.

SUPPLEMENT 2 TO THE CALL FOR PAPERS
38TH OTDK
PHYSICS, EARTH SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS SECTION

Dear Students, dear Colleagues,

Between April 6–9, 2027, the Obuda University will organize the final of the 38th National Student Research Conference Physics, Earth Sciences and Mathematics Section (FiFöMa).

In its new strategy, the National Association for Student Research has decided to open up the OTDK system to talent development in high schools. Accordingly, the FiFöMa High School Student Conference will be held in parallel with the OTDK. Our aim is to build on the experience of the OTDK movement, which has been operating for almost 70 years, to help talents to be identified and develop as quickly as possible, and to develop talents based on discovery and in line with students’ interests. While we recognize the achievements of high school students, please note that participation in the FiFöMa High School Student Conference does not count as participation in the OTDK; therefore, its placements and awards do not form part of the panel results of the OTDK conference.

In support of young talent, as organizers of the OTDK at Obuda University, we are organizing the FiFöMa High School Student Conference as a supplementary program and hereby announce the following call for applications for students in grades 10–12:

We welcome

• students interested in any area of physics, geography/earth sciences, mathematics
• and their teachers who are or would like to be involved in talent development or preparing students for scientific competitions.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Joint consultation between a lecturer of the TDK community of a higher education institution in the Carpathian Basin and the applicant secondary school student and their supervising teacher (the list of contact TDK leaders can be found on the website under the heading “For High School Students”).
• Preparation of an application on a freely chosen topic in the above-mentioned scientific fields in one of the specified application categories
• Applications can be submitted in subjects that lie in the intersection of physics, geography (natural and social geography), mathematics, mineralogy, astronomy, biology, chemistry, meteorology, cartography or even history.  It is important to emphasize that there are no strict boundaries; any phenomenon, formation, or process — potentially linking the above-mentioned scientific fields — can also be explored if it involves observation, examination, or modelling of past or current environmental and/or social changes occurring on Earth or in the universe.
• As applications must be submitted in digital format only, the essay may also use innovative methods (e.g. video embedding, animation, etc.).
• Indication of interest to participate at the link below: https://fifoma.uni-obuda.hu

We will then prepare your access code for the event’s online system.

Important deadlines:

February 6, 2027. (Saturday)
Registering your interest with the necessary details, uploading a parental statement for applicants under 16. (The statement template can be downloaded from our website.)

March 1, 2027. (Monday)
Uploading the application to the event’s online system.

Application categories:

Essay: Maximum of 25 A4 pages (due to the specificities of the disciplines, the maximum length is recommended only) on a topic related to one of the three disciplines. Applicants should present a natural scientific, environmental or social phenomenon or problem they have observed. The focus is on the topicality of the subject, the applicant’s own ideas and creativity, taking into account the professional documentation of the literature used.

Experimental presentation: Experimental modelling and presentation of a selected physical, mathematical or earth science phenomenon in the form of a 2–5-minute video.

The application must be accompanied by a one-page abstract, including a brief description of the natural phenomenon to be presented and the experiment to be carried out, as well as the experimental equipment and materials.

Micro-teaching: formulating and presenting an innovative teaching idea on a public education topic in one of the three scientific fields in the form of a 2–5-minute video. In this case, the application should also include a lesson plan of at least one page, in which the student presents the steps of the teaching process for the topic, the tools and methods used, and, in the case of using ICT tools, the URL link.

Animation: The applicant should present a scientific or environmental phenomenon or problem in the form of a 2–5-minute self-created computer animation. The submitted application should include the completed animation, which presents the given phenomenon in a freely chosen format (text, audio, drawing, film, accompanying description).

Each application can have a maximum of two participants! In this case, please register both authors on the event website.

Evaluation and presentation:

TDK papers in essay form will be assessed in advance by a professional Section Panel. Afterwards, in the conference sessions for high school students, participants will give a 10-minute online presentation of their main findings. The presentation will be followed by a 5–10-minute professional discussion. After summing up the written and oral results, the Section Panel ranks the applications. The results will be announced at the official award ceremony.

Applications submitted in the form of experimental demonstrations, microteaching, and animations will be evaluated and ranked by a professional Section Panel in advance. The results will be announced at the official award ceremony. The video submissions will be shown to all OTDK participants during the event and the 3 most voted works will win a valuable prize based on audience votes.

Why it is worth applying:

We hope that the applicants will find it an interesting challenge to participate in the long tradition of TDK activity! During the conference, we will provide students and their teachers with access to all professional forums and leisure programs, as well as to our online programs specifically organized for them. Successful participation in the competition will provide valuable extra points for students in future higher education applications (e.g. the New National Excellence Program). The closer relationships established between high schools and higher education institutions in this way can help support the dedicated talent development efforts of high school teachers in the long term.

For more information, please contact the organizer of the high school section at the email address oe.fifoma2027@uni-obuda.hu or on the event website: https://fifoma.uni-obuda.hu

Budapest, 21 April 2026.

Sincerely:

SUPPLEMENT 3 TO THE CALL FOR PAPERS
38TH OTDK
PHYSICS, EARTH SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS SECTION

Physics

1. Materials science
2. Astrophysics
3. Nuclear physics
4. Particle physics, field theories
5. Bio- and biological physics
6. Astronomy
7. History of physics
8. Classic physical problems
9. Physics of complex systems
10. Environmental physics
11. Quantum optics
12. Modern quantum physics problems
13. Laser physics
14. Nanostructures
15. Heavy-ion physics
16. Optics
17. Plasma physics
18. Reactor physics
19. Statistical physics
20. Solid state physics
21. Interesting physics problems, new solving methods

Earth Sciences

1. Earth and geographic applications of environmental science
2. Applied earth science
3. Archaeometry
4. Mineralogy
5. Geology, sedimentology
6. Earth science issues in engineering applications
7. Geophysics
8. Geoinformatics
9. Geomorphology
10. Hydrogeology, hydrogeography
11. Karst research
12. Professional investigation of environmentally sound practices
13. Igneous and metamorphic petrology
14. Renewable energy sources
15. Meteorology, Climatology
16. Paleontology
17. Planetology
18. Archaeological Geology
19. Professional heritage
20. Landscape geography
21. Remote sensing
22. Cartography
23. Nature conservation
24. History of science

Mathematics

1. Algebra
2. Applied mathematics
3. Analysis
4. Theoretical computer science
5. Geometry and topology
6. Set theory and logic
7. Combinatorics
8. History of mathematics
9. Multidisciplinary mathematics
10. Operations research
11. Number theory
12. Statistics
13. Probability calculation
14. Interesting mathematical problems, novel solution methods

Social geography

1. General social geography
2. Economic geography
3. Environment and society
4. Population geography
5. Political geography
6. Social geography
7. Settlement geography
8. Geography of spatial and urban development
9. Historical geography
10. History of science
11. Tourism geography
12. Socio-geographical aspects of sustainability
13. Interesting issues in geography and earth science, novel approaches

SUPPLEMENT 4 TO THE CALL FOR PAPERS
38TH OTDK
PHYSICS, EARTH SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS SECTION

To emphasize the presentation of original results and facilitate professional discourse, the Physics, Earth Sciences and Mathematics Section Committee assigns equal weight to the evaluation of the TDK paper, the oral presentation, and the discussion.

Therefore, at the OTDK, the time allocated for presenting the TDK paper consists of 15 minutes for the presentation and 15 minutes for professional discussion. The presentation must prominently incorporate the work completed by the student and highlight their original results. All aspects of the use of artificial intelligence must be addressed, as this forms an important part of the evaluation. These elements also play a significant role in the discussion following the presentation.

Evaluation of the TDK paper

1.   Evaluation criteria for the TDK papers

• The quality and novelty of the original results, as well as the accuracy of their justification and evaluation.
• The quality, description, and originality of independently conducted methods, as well as the correctness of their application.
• The clear definition of the individual task (problem statement), as well as the detailed positioning and distinction of the independent work within the broader scientific research conducted by the research group.
• Style and structure of the paper, and knowledge of the literature.
• Use of AI in the process of ethical scientific work.

2. Evaluation criteria for the presentation and discussion at the conference

• Did the presentation meet the presentation requirements (structure, precision, clear reasoning, use of technical terms, etc.)?
• Did the presenter clearly define their own task, their scientific activity, and distinguish it from the broader research of the research group?
• At what scientific level was the presenter able to present their own research findings?
• Did the author present the research methods used in detail – including the use of artificial intelligence – and were they appropriate to the research objectives?
• How did the presenter justify their results, and how accurate were their conclusions?
• To what extent did the author demonstrate an understanding of the coherence of the paper and the scientific soundness of the results?
• To what extent was the presenter able to respond substantively to the Section Panel’s comments, questions, and critiques; and how professionally confident are they in the subject?

SUPPLEMENT 5 TO THE CALL FOR PAPERS
38TH OTDK
PHYSICS, EARTH SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS SECTION

1. Genre and ethos of TDK papers

The Section Committee provides recommendations regarding the structure of TDK papers and the focus of the topics presented. The recommendations set out in the supplement cover the target audience of the paper, the content-related emphasis, and the quality of the description of proofs.

2. Purpose of the TDK paper

The primary purpose of a TDK paper is to present and substantiate the author’s own scientific results. The paper must present in detail those professional knowledge and methods that go beyond the compulsory curriculum and are necessary to answer the research questions addressed in the study.

3. Target audience of the TDK paper

At the National Student Research Conference, submitted papers compete within panels. In some cases, a panel may bring together several closely related fields. Accordingly, the aim is to ensure that each of these fields is represented in the Session Panel. The target audience of the paper is therefore the potential composition of the Session Panel, which is broader than the specific topic of the research. For this reason, the Section Committee recommends that TDK papers address a more general audience than those who publish in the given field.

4. Structure and genre of the TDK paper

Concepts must be defined in accordance with the target audience. The purpose of the research, its sequential steps, the results, and the proofs must be presented clearly and in a logically coherent manner. For this reason, the genre of a TDK paper differs significantly from that of a journal article. In TDK papers, the applied methodology, the results, and the discussion require a much more detailed presentation. While journal articles typically assume familiarity with prior results in the field, a TDK paper must also present those elements that are relevant to understanding its own results. Since members of the Session Panel may publish in different journals, this difference from journal articles is an important aspect of TDK papers and requires a more extensive and detailed presentation of logical steps.

Knowledge forming part of the compulsory curriculum need not (and should not) be described in detail in the text; it is sufficient to refer to it, and it may be freely built upon. The focus of the TDK paper should be on knowledge that goes beyond the compulsory curriculum.

The style of a TDK paper is expected to reflect the author’s own results. The “Results” section must present findings that have been produced individually (or jointly by two authors) by the author(s) under the guidance of the supervisor. Content elements resulting from the collective work of a research group cannot constitute the individual results expected in a TDK paper, as the OTDK is a competition for students, not for research groups (whose members typically hold at least an MSc degree). Such jointly produced elements should be incorporated into the introduction or as part of the presentation of the topic, even if the student-author made a significant contribution to them. This differs from the practice in multi-author journal articles, where such elements are a natural part of the presented results.

At the same time, the Section Committee acknowledges the indispensable role of supervisors in TDK research; however, appropriate proportions must be maintained in the division of work.

In light of the above, it can be stated that the optimal formulation and level of detail in TDK papers differ significantly from those of journal articles. The Section Committee therefore asks authors and supervisors to pay due attention to the expected requirements when preparing the paper.

The style of a thesis/diploma work may be much closer to that of a TDK paper; however, such works – especially in research-oriented programs – typically do not include elements beyond the compulsory curriculum, and therefore do not meet the requirements for a TDK paper if the same research results are presented in the master’s or integrated master’s thesis. A TDK paper must contain methodology, results, and discussion elements that differ from or go beyond those of the thesis/diploma work, even if they address the same topic.

• 38th OTDK Physics, Earth Sciences and Mathematics Section Call
• Supplement 1
• Supplement 2
• Supplement 3
• Supplement 4
• Supplement 5