Beyond the competition around physics, the International Physicists’ Tournament (IPT) has allowed about 150 foreigners to meet at the Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS), located in the city of Bucaramanga (Colombia).
This is why during their visit to the UIS facilities they have been amazed by the size of the campus, the green areas, the presence of different animals and the attention of the people.
“I really liked the university campus because of the trees, the areas for students to rest are wonderful, the auditoriums seemed modern and I liked them. The IPT is an interesting and unusual tournament, partly because it is held in Colombia. Here there are different types of buildings, climate; it was difficult, but interesting,” said Anastasiia Demydchenko, a member of the Ukrainian team.
Another of the delegations that stood out was Brazil. The team took first place in the first phase and this Friday can become the first non-European country to reach the IPT title.
“I am very impressed by UIS, it is a nice campus with good people and good research. I really liked what I have been able to learn about Bucaramanga. It is my first time at an on-site IPT, I found the level of discussions very good and we are doing what we have to do, which is to meet people, fraternize and learn physics, that is wonderful”, said Leandro R. Tessler, professor of Physics at the University of Campinas (Unicamp), the institution where the six members of the team study.
One of the countries that will be in the final is France and, like their colleagues from Brazil and Ukraine, their representatives highlighted the UIS campus.
“I like the university because it is good, has a lot of vegetation, good weather in Bucaramanga, I am happy because I had not been in this beautiful country,” said Benjamin Allouche, a young French student.
And from Milan (Italy) came Luca Periggio, who has represented his country in this IPT, so coming to Colombia has been something completely new for his life.
“The campus of the Universidad Industrial de Santander is really amazing. I have seen a lot of animals, a lot of green, I think these are aspects that you can hardly see in my country. The people in Colombia are really warm, from the first day I have enjoyed Santander and the Colombian people,” he said.
The International Physicists’ Tournament will end this Friday and on Saturday each delegation will leave for their country of origin, but with the good memory of having known the UIS, Bucaramanga and other people from other cultures.
