Over the weekend of 10–11 May, a large group of real detectives gathered in Belgrade. And not just any detectives – but young ones, whose sharp eyes miss no detail and whose lively minds can solve even the greatest mysteries! We’re talking, of course, about the Brainfinity Detectives!

As part of the Erasmus+ project “Brainfinity Detectives”, these young sleuths from Bulgaria, Portugal, Slovenia, and Serbia had already proven themselves months earlier by solving detective challenges at their national Brainfinity competitions. Their success earned them a place at the highest, international level of the competition.

For the first time since its inception in 2017, this competition reached an international level – and it turned out that even more complex problems couldn’t stop these young detectives from arriving at the right solutions. Participants from Slovenia were the most successful, winning trophies and gold medals in three out of four age categories. The Bulgarian team also took gold in the 13-year-old category. Teams from Serbia and Bulgaria won some silver and bronze medals as well, but all participants walked away with great memories, new friendships, and valuable experiences. They shared these impressions in short interviews recorded for the promotion of our project and its results.

We took the opportunity to show our guests the sights of Belgrade through a guided city tour and a visit to the Nikola Tesla Museum. Both students and their teachers were truly thrilled with this exciting weekend in Belgrade. A significant part of the event’s success was due to our dedicated volunteers – students from Savremena Gimnazija, International School, and ITHS – who made sure that no participant was left unattended or uninformed. A big thank-you to all our hardworking volunteers for the boundless energy and positivity they brought to the event!

On the second day of the weekend, we hosted educators and other interested parties from across Serbia at the project’s final conference, titled: “Education for the Future: Problem Solving as the Key to Success”. The audience was introduced to the Brainfinity methodology and the results of our project, such as: training for teachers on the Brainfinity methodology, a collection of detective tasks, a guide for organizing and promoting national Brainfinity competitions, a handbook for applying the methodology in teaching, and the Brainfinity portal – where all these materials are available in digital format to the public.

The panel addressed the importance of problem-solving skills in the labor market, sparking an engaging discussion. Attendees expressed a desire for the methodology to expand to other educational levels as well as to industry. The audience was especially delighted by a short presentation by the young Brainfinity Detectives – the winners of the competition – who shared their impressions of the event. Boštjan Majerič, the principal of the Slovenian school that won the most medals, expressed his admiration for the entire concept and solemnly promised to do everything he could to continue the initiative even after the project ends.

The conference concluded with a panel discussion featuring representatives from the project’s partner organizations. The audience learned about the specifics of the education systems in Slovenia, Bulgaria, and Portugal, how problem-solving skills were developed in those countries before the project, and the participants’ views on the further implementation of the Brainfinity methodology in teaching. We believe that through this project, we’ve made a meaningful contribution to improving education in the participating countries – and we look forward to continuing our collaboration through new levels of the Brainfinity methodology.