Gifted students from 70 countries across the world have gathered in Tehran to compete in the 29th International Biology Olympiad which began on July 15 and is slated to end on July 22.
IBO is a yearly biology competition for secondary school students under the age of 20, who are winners of their respective national biology Olympiads, reported the event’s website. Iran is the host of this round of the one-week-long competition which is held in a different country every year.
Over the week, there will be two full days of exams at an advanced academic level for participants, split into a practical day and a theoretical day to gauge talents of gifted students in related subjects.
There will also be a number of excursions and activities for both participants and accompanying adults.
The ongoing event is organized by the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with universities of Tarbiat Modares and Tehran.
During the inauguration ceremony, Minister of Education Seyyed Mohammad Bat’haei delivered a message to the contestants from President Hassan Rouhani, who could not make it to the opening.
The message welcomed participants and stressed the necessity of identifying exceptional talents in the field of biology. Part of the message reads, “I hope Iran hosting the event can open up an opportunity for discussions on the quality and quantity of teaching biology in all member countries.”
Iran’s teams managed to win one gold and one silver medal in last year’s competition which was held in England.
The first academic international Olympiad was launched under the auspices of the United Nations in the 1960s.
