At the University of Gdańsk, secondary school pupils from the Pomeranian Voivodeship tackled difficult tasks from the fields of biological and biotechnological sciences, concerning immunology and vaccines. The STARBIOS2 Vaccine Quiz was held at the University of Gdańsk for the first time. Although the level of difficulty was very high, the winner Agnieszka Gołąb from the Krzysztof Kolberger 9^th Secondary School in Gdańsk received the maximum number of points.

The finals of the STARBIOS2 Vaccine Quiz were attended by 39 pupils from 13 secondary schools in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Pupils and teachers came from Czersk, Nowy Dwór Gdański, Kartuzy and Bolesławowo, as well as Gdańsk and Gdynia.

The best contestants were:

• Agnieszka Gołąb from the Krzysztof Kolberger 9^th Secondary School in Gdańsk, who received the maximum number of points – 1^st place,
• Paweł Stangorra from the Dr Władysław Pniewski 2^nd Secondary School in Gdańsk – 2^nd place,
• Zuzanna Sieńko from the “Lingwista” Academic Secondary School in Gdańsk – 3^rd place.

The STARBIOS2 Vaccine Quiz was prepared by a team of researchers from the Laboratory of Recombinant Vaccines of the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG & MUG: Prof. Bogusław Szewczyk, Head of the Laboratory, Dr Ewelina Król and Dr Andrea Lipińska.

The competition was divided into two stages – school and central. The finals, attended by Prof. Arnold Kłonczyński, UG Vice-Rector for Student Affairs, Prof. Igor Konieczny, Dean of the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG & MUG, committee members, pupils and teachers, were held at the University of Gdańsk.

Attractive prizes awaited the winners – a digital camera (funded by the Rector of the University of Gdańsk Prof. Jerzy Gwizdała), an Oculus rift virtual reality headset with a set of games, a smartwatch, plus cash prizes and gifts.

All the participants in the finals were able to watch a 3D lecture prepared specially for them, entitled “In the world of proteins. Relationships between structure and function”, delivered by Dr Szymon Ziętkiewicz. The guests were also given a tour of the Faculty by Prof. Stanisław Ołdziej.

The competition is connected with the STARBIOS 2 (Structural Transformation to Attain Responsible BIOSciences) project being implemented at the University of Gdańsk as part of the Horizon 2020 programme. The project aims at devising and implementing procedures to allow for structural changes to responsible research and innovation across selected institutions which conduct research in the fields of biological, chemical and biotechnological sciences. One of the elements of this activity is popularising knowledge of responsible research and innovation, particularly vaccines, among scientists and students but also across society and especially in secondary schools.

The finals of the quiz were held on 20 March 2018 in the auditorium of the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG & MUG as part of the AKADEMIA 2018 Fair.