STEM teachers from Latvia win prestigious awards ahead of SonS 2026

Teachers and students of Jelgava Secondary School No 5, Latvia, were invited to represent their country at the International Innovations exhibition “ARCA 2025” in Croatia. The event took place at the National University Library in Zagreb in October 2025, bringing together more than 300 innovations from 35 countries –  by individual inventors, technical schools, universities, research institutes and technology companies.

The three event days offered STEM workshops, lectures and discussions on intellectual property, funding opportunities and technology development. Workshops were also held where young people and educators could learn about the latest trends in science and technology. At the end, bronze, silver, gold and “ARCA” Grand Prix awards were presented, evaluating the most innovative solutions according to creativity, utility and market potential. The innovations were evaluated by an international jury of professors, engineers, intellectual property experts and industry professionals.

The silver medal was awarded to Vadim Mamedov and Josif Spirts, teachers of Jelgava Secondary School No. 5, for the development of an artificial intelligence teacher assistant.  The bronze medal was awarded to teachers Valerija Illarionova and Josif Spirts for the development of a smart mini greenhouse. Meanwhile, the project “Analemma – the eight drawn by the Sun” by Natalia Stocka and Josif Spirts received an honorary degree.

The teachers with their projects also participated in Latvia national “Science on Stage” festival held in Jelgava where the project “Artificial intelligence teacher assistant” was awarded the 2nd prize and will participate in the European Science on Stage festival in Klaipėda, Lithuania.

Report: Skaidrīte Bukbārde, Latvia