Milan, 15 September 2026 – From podcasts to comics, videos and experiments, as well as games, storytelling and multimedia projects, students have chosen a wide range of formats to highlight the value of chemistry and its contribution to everyday life.
These are some of the key elements characterising the winning projects of the 2025–2026 edition of the Federchimica Youth National Award “Chemistry: The Science That Saves the World”, promoted by Federchimica, the Italian National Federation of the Chemical Industry, together with its sector associations. The initiative aims to bring younger generations closer to scientific culture through innovative educational approaches.
The competition is open to primary and lower secondary schools and invites students, either individually or in groups, to create an original project that presents chemistry creatively while maintaining scientific rigour, highlighting its role in sustainable development, innovation and improving quality of life. The 2025–2026 edition attracted more than 3,500 students from across Italy, who submitted 257 projects. Among these, 54 individual and group projects were awarded prizes yesterday at the Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan.
“The Federchimica Youth National Award is one of the main tools through which Federchimica engages with the education system, helping to promote an understanding of chemistry based on scientific evidence and to overcome the stereotypes and misconceptions that, unfortunately, still surround this discipline. Those who study chemistry have access to qualified career paths and high levels of education: in our companies, graduates account for twice the percentage recorded across the manufacturing industry as a whole. Furthermore, 96% of employees have permanent employment contracts. This is also why we invest in initiatives such as this one: we want to stimulate curiosity, critical thinking and interest in STEM subjects, accompanying young people as they discover the many opportunities offered by scientific careers, including direct career opportunities in the chemical industry,” said Francesco Buzzella, President of Federchimica.
In Italy, the chemical industry employed approximately 117,000 people in 2025, accounting for around 9% of employment in the sector across Europe. Between 2015 and 2025, the sector generated 11,000 new jobs, contributing to employment growth in Italy at a higher rate than the average for the manufacturing industry.
“Although 93% of graduates in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering find employment within one year of graduation, and 82% of graduates from ITS Academies specialising in chemistry already move into qualified employment upon graduation, our companies still face difficulties in finding specialised personnel. In particular, recent years have seen a worrying decline in enrolments in the ‘chemistry and materials’ programme at technical institutes, with only 3,000 students enrolled for the school year that has just begun – far too few to meet the needs of our companies. Continuing to strengthen the relationship between schools and industry, promoting a solid scientific culture and supporting the talent of younger generations are among Federchimica’s priorities, supported by numerous projects and events aimed at students at all levels of education,” added Aram Manoukian, Vice President of Federchimica with responsibility for Education.
All the winning projects for 2025–2026 are available here:
Federchimica Youth National Award – 2025–2026 winning projects
Applications for the new 2026–2027 edition are already open, with entries accepted until 26 March 2027. Projects must be submitted by 7 May 2027.
Information on how to participate in the new edition of the competition is available at:
www.premiofederchimicagiovani.it
Information on all Federchimica projects for teachers and students is available at:
www.chimicaunabuonascelta.it
