Participation of the Ukrainian delegation in Fyziklání-2026 became a practical component of international experience exchange in non-formal STEM education between Ukraine and the Visegrad Four countries. The visit to Prague provided an opportunity not only to join one of Europe's largest team physics tournaments, but also to directly familiarize with the approaches of Czech project partners, the FYKOS organization at Charles University, to popularizing physics among youth, developing students' hard and soft skills, hosting international intellectual competitions, and integrating non-formal educational practices into university and school education systems.

The Ukrainian delegation was headed by the Head of the TEIB Department at UzhNU Vasyl RIZAK, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine, member of the American Physical Society, head of the Transcarpathian branch of the Ukrainian Physical Society, academician and head of the Transcarpathian center of the Academy of Technological Sciences of Ukraine. Uzhhorod high school students and their mentors — winners of the national stage of the international Náboj Physics tournament, held for the first time in Ukraine at the end of 2025 at UzhNU within the Visegrad project — also joined the international trip.

The central part of the visit was the educational events of the largest European team physics tournament Fyziklání, which annually gathers hundreds of student teams from all over the world and combines intellectual competitions with a broad scientific and educational program: lectures, excursions to research laboratories, meetings with scientists, and informal discussions about modern physics. Ukraine was represented at the tournament by teams of high school students from Uzhhorod Scientific Lyceum, "Leader" Lyceum, and Lyceum No. 3 in Uzhhorod, competing in the most prestigious Category A of Fyziklání. In total, over 300 teams from 15 countries participated. Uzhhorod students demonstrated high-level preparation and achieved commendable positions, outperforming many experienced European teams.

The UzhNU delegation participated in celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the Fyziklání tournament. As part of the jubilee program, a meeting took place with the President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Miloš Vystrčil, discussing the role of international student competitions in developing natural sciences education and supporting Ukrainian participants. UzhNU students and faculty also held working meetings with project partners — leaders and active members of student organizations FYKOS (Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University) and Trojsten (Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University in Bratislava). Participants discussed the experience of organizing international student competitions, non-formal STEM education approaches, and prospects for future cooperation. In particular, hosting the next Náboj Physics tournament in Uzhhorod in 2026 at UzhNU was agreed upon. An educational excursion program was organized for the Ukrainian delegation, helping better understand the cultural and historical context of the partner country, including central Prague landmarks, the historical Vyšehrad complex, and the Czech National Bank exhibition on Czech financial and economic history.

Participation in the Fyziklání-2026 tournament was an important milestone in project implementation, and the experience gained will foster further development of non-formal STEM education in the region and the adoption of best V4 practices in university educational and outreach activities. The opportunity to share this experience with school students who already participate in international competitions and will hopefully become future university students and researchers in natural sciences is of particular importance. Event participants express sincere gratitude to the International Relations Department (Head - Assoc. Prof. Oksana Sviezhentseva) and the administration of UzhNU for assistance in organizing the trip, as well as to the International Visegrad Fund for financial support of the project and creating opportunities for Ukrainian youth integration into the European STEM educational space.