Team South Africa's IYPT Story

Meeting a passionate German Physics teacher

The journey of Team South Africa into the world of the International Young Physicists’ Tournament (IYPT) began in 2015, when two passionate educators crossed paths at the Science and Engineering Program for Teachers (SEPT) at MIT. Don Duffield, then Head of Science at Parklands College in Cape Town, met Dr Falk Ebert, an enthusiastic German physics teacher from Herder Gymnasium in Berlin. Dr Ebert’s passion for IYPT as a platform to engage high school students in real-world physics proved inspiring and transformative.

From GYPT to IYPT

Encouraged by the strong showing at GYPT, Parklands College received a second invitation to GYPT in 2018 from Dr Florian Ostermaier, Head of GYPT. That same year, Don Duffield attended IYPT 2018 in Beijing as a guest and observer, at the invitation of Prof. Martin Plesch, the President of IYPT. These experiences cemented South Africa’s commitment to the ideals of IYPT and its mission to nurture young physicists on a global stage.

It also became clear that for a team to compete effectively at IYPT, a dedicated management team was essential. This team would need to include a professional experimental physicist and a postgraduate mentor capable of supporting team members with advanced tasks such as coding and computational modelling.

A Journey of Resilience

In 2019, Don Duffield partnered with Dr Alistair Douglas, a professional experimental physicist and teacher at St. John’s College in Johannesburg. Together, they embarked on an ambitious path to establish Team South Africa. Despite fielding only three learners, South Africa officially participated for the first time in IYPT 2019 in Warsaw. While the team did not take part in the main tournament, they engaged in valuable practice fights against Team Macedonia — another newcomer to IYPT. This experience demonstrated both the resolve and determination of the South African learners.