Wiki Science Competition 2021 Award Ceremony

A photoshoot by Marian Duven on IDSIA USI-SUPSI (the Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence), published by the website Ticino Scienza (IBSA Foundation for Scientific Research), has won the category "Image sets" of the Swiss chapter of the competition, organised at the international level (13 countries) by Wikimedia, the foundation that runs Wikipedia. The award ceremony was held on Wednesday, 18 May, at the USI West Campus Auditorium, in the presence of Jenny Ebermann, Executive Director of Wikimedia CH, and Ivo Kruusamägi, Executive Director of Wikimedia Estonia.  

Marian Duven's work portrays "a day at IDSIA USI-SUPSI" in the large open space of East Campus Lugano, where some hundred researchers meet every day. IDSIA USI-SUPSI is an internationally renowned centre active in artificial intelligence, with primarily young researchers (77% are under forty). The Institute's projects cover a wide range of fields, illustrated with great narrative and artistic talent by Marian Duven: the study of artificial hands and robots, artificial vision and microcomputers, and much more. The photoshoot also features breaks at IDSIA, such as table-soccer challenges, and the rarefied, silent atmosphere of most of the open space, with unique rooms isolated by soundproof crystals.  

The prize-giving ceremony of the Swiss national competition was held on 18 May in USI's West Campus Auditorium. It was the first time that the award ceremony of this prize was held in Ticino, in the presence of Jenny Ebermann, Executive Director of Wikimedia CH, and Ivo Kruusamägi, Executive Director of Wikimedia Estonia, the "branch" that first launched this contest in 2007.   

The award ceremony was introduced by Ilario Valdelli, programme manager for innovation at Wikimedia CH, and by Luca Gambardella, Pro-rector for innovation and corporate relations at USI.  

In addition to Marian Duven for the feature on Ticino Scienza, the winners of the other six categories were awarded: people in science, microscopy Images, non-photographic media, wildlife and nature, space and astronomy, and a general category. The complete list is available at the dedicated page. The Swiss national jury was comprised of Alessandro Cobbe (mathematician), Dominik Landwehr (media specialist), Alessandro Marchetti (chemist), and Mascha Stroobant (biologist).  

The awards were presented by Alessandro Marchetti, coordinator of the Wiki Science Competition in Switzerland and internationally.  

The competition is organised in 13 countries by Wikimedia, the foundation that runs Wikipedia and other projects. Each national Wikimedia office has run a local version of the competition. The winners will then participate in the international competition, which will occur by the end of 2022. In the spirit of Wikimedia/Wikipedia, all winning photos will be placed on the Wikimedia Commons Platform and can be used freely by anyone in the world, as long as the source is cited, under the CC BY-SA license.