Special prize by Jugend Forscht awarded to former school intern

Shaoxuan Wang has won a special prize in the Jugend Forscht competition for her project ‘Smart Capsules – intelligent microcapsules for glucose-dependent insulin release’. She designed the project as a “special achievement” for her A-levels. To carry out the experimental work, Shaoxuan was able to spend a further two weeks in the laboratory at the HZB Institute for Electrochemical Energy Storage, where she had completed a school internship two years earlier.

Shaoxuan has known for some time that she wants to pursue a career in research. For her school internship, which was due to take place in Year 10 at her school, she applied to the HZB Institute for Electrochemical Energy Storage in 2024. For two weeks, she commuted every day from her home in Wildau to the HZB’s Lise Meitner Campus in Berlin-Wannsee, observing the researchers carry out their experiments and learning by asking questions.

The young student’s keen interest in science also caught the attention of her teachers. They suggested she take part in the student programme at the Society of German Natural Scientists and Physicians (GDNÄ) conference in Potsdam. It was there that she discovered the topic she wanted to work on for her "special achievement component" at A-level. 'I was fascinated by the possibility of developing microcapsules that can release medication into the body as and when needed,' explains Shaoxuan. Her biology teacher, Mr Bläß, encouraged her to explore this topic further through experimentation. But where could a school student carry out such experiments?

Shaoxuan plucked up her courage and wrote to Yan Lu once more. Yan Lu is the director of the HZB institute where Shaoxuan had previously completed her school internship. Yan Lu hesitated for a moment, because, although she has a great deal of expertise in colloid research, her work at HZB focuses on battery research. 'But I was very keen to support this young girl; she was so motivated, and of course we can produce microcapsules here too,' says Yan Lu. So she agreed.

One initial hurdle was that there were no official channels through which a A-level student could work in an HZB laboratory as part of her special A-level project. 'The HR department had to find new ways to make this possible,' says Linda Schmalz, Yan Lu’s assistant.

By the end of 2025, the time had come. For two weeks, Shaoxuan travelled for more than three hours back and forth every day to the lab in order to produce the ‘smart’ microcapsules and to enjoy support from experienced postdocs. These microcapsules are coated with an enzyme that reacts to glucose by changing the pH level on their surface. The microcapsule then swells and releases the insulin. 'It was a great feeling to have managed to produce these microcapsules myself in just two weeks,' says Shaoxuan. Subsequently, her biology teacher, Mr Bläß, encouraged her to submit this project to the ‘Jugend Forscht’ competition. She has now been awarded a special prize comprising 1,000 euros in prize money and the opportunity to join the alumni network and attend seminars.

She is now looking forward to the next steps: 'I want to study molecular biotechnology or biochemistry, ideally in Heidelberg or Munich.' We offer our warmest congratulations to Shaoxuan Wang and wish her a wonderful time at university.