On March 25, 2025, an "International Masterclass" in particle physics took place at the Institute of Nuclear and Particle Physics (IKTP) at TU Dresden. 25 students from Saxony, Berlin and Brandenburg took the opportunity to slip into the role of particle physicists for a day.

During the all-day event, the participants were first given insights into the basics of particle physics and the current state of research in specialist lectures. Early-career researchers from the IKTP presented key research questions and explained the experimental methods used at the Institute and around the world.

© IKTP

The program was livened up with interactive elements, such as a particle profile game and the "Feynman Rhombino". Afterwards, the young people became active researchers themselves: in small groups, they analyzed original data from the ATLAS experiment at CERN in Geneva. One of the tasks was to identify traces of the Higgs boson in the collision data.

The event concluded with a video conference in English, in which the participants presented their results and exchanged ideas with groups of students from other countries and researchers at CERN. This allowed them to experience first-hand how international collaboration in basic research works.

© IKTP

Participation in the International Masterclass was supported by a travel grant from the Society of Friends and Sponsors of TU Dresden (GFF).