Daniela Bartolo relates her experience in Moscow after winning the NSTF Contest for Young Scientists

No words can describe the unique experience Mark Abela, Andrea Micallef and myself were given after winning the National Young Scientist Contest. The reaction by the then national organiser, Sandra Scicluna, was what one expects when three students are offered an all-paid-for week-long trip to Moscow.

Getting there was no easy feat. Coming up with the idea, building proto-types, going constantly to the University Workshop, writing reports and trying to find sponsors was an overwhelmingly laborious task.

In this year's European Contest for Young Scientist, held in Moscow in September, we presented a Domestic Biogas Generator or, as we informally call it, the DBG, which produces biogas, a renewable energy from grinded organic waste after anaerobic digestion has taken place.

The waste is thrown into the first unit where it is finely grinded and which then goes into the second unit which compromises black containers where anaerobic digestion can take place. An extractor, when switched on, creates pressure so that the gas enters a container, where it is kept as long as necessary. The remaining sludge in the container can also be treated and used as compost.

The idea stemmed up after a publication of the National Statistics Office where an analysis on the waste thrown out showed that an overwhelming huge percentage of the matter thrown out is in fact organic. Living in the northern part of Malta and having to constantly smell the toxic gases from the Maghtab landfill surely motivated us to improve the project.

During our stay in Moscow, accompanied by former NSTF head of Cultural and Educational Affairs, Ilaria Flores Martin, we followed an astounding academic and cultural programme, packed with several activities both related and unrelated to the scientific world. How many 17-year-olds can say they have spoken to cosmonauts up in space or that they have visited genetic engineering labs? Well, Mark, Andrea and I can proudly say so!

Apart from these excursions, we were also given the opportunity to stroll along the Alexandrovsky Garden during the city tour, have dinner on the Moscow River and party every night. Resting was clearly not an option!

Moscow is truly a superb city. It is a city of extremes. It blooms with history and culture especially the famous Red Square which brings together all that the Russians went through during the past decades. It is, quite simply, the most stunning place I have ever seen. This vast space in the heart of Moscow is surrounded by some of the most incredible buildings one can ever see.

The actual exhibition, spread over three days, was overwhelming. Having judging sessions or explaining to the Bauman University students where the event was taking place and to members of the press was already enough, let alone receiving star treatment for a whole week! It was amazing how hospitable the Russian host university was. The students were wonderful, constantly helping us, making us feel at ease and also going out of their way to ensure we had all we required.

In what better way can the Year for Active Citizenship be celebrated if not having over 100 young scientists from all over the world? Integration was surely not a problem, be it English, Italian, French or even a bit of Russian communicating with all these students proved to be an event in itself.

In today's world, where innovation is the key to success, initiatives like this should stimulate many post-secondary and tertiary students to engage in such extra-curricular activities which can boost both their academic knowledge and more importantly their cultural knowledge. However, this is not enough. From our experience we can surely say that students taking part in such activities, representing the country, are not aided. The students have to work on their own and experiment with their limited number of resources. We believe that funding should be available for such activities. Most countries, especially Germany, have specific programmes which help the student develop further the acquired skills.