International Physicists' Tournament (IPT)

The International Physicists' Tournament (IPT) is a team-based physics competition where students tackle challenging, open-ended problems that resemble real research questions rather than standard textbook exercises. Teams work for weeks or months in advance to develop theoretical models, perform experiments, and prepare detailed presentations on a set of physics problems released by the organizers. The event is built around "physics fights," where teams take turns presenting their solutions, opposing others' work, and acting as reviewers, all under the evaluation of an expert jury. While the main IPT is primarily aimed at university students, some national-level selections and local variants may allow advanced high school students to participate alongside or under university teams, depending on country-specific rules. Participants gain experience in research-style inquiry, scientific communication, and critical debate—skills that are valuable for future studies and careers in physics and other STEM fields.