Bangladeshi students shine at IJSO 2022

The International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO) is a general science competition, inviting students under the age of 16 years to participate as an individual or a team. IJSO strives to increase school children' interest in science by introducing them to experimentation, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It hopes to have a beneficial long-term impact on school-level science and math education.

The 19th edition of the competition was hosted in Bogota, Colombia. Team Bangladesh displayed a magnificent performance by bagging four bronze medals. The winners were Azmaeen Adib, from Udayan Uchcha Madhyamik Bidyalaya, MD Nafis Noor Taseen, from Bir Shreshtha Noor Mohammad Public College, and Kazi Nadid Hossain and Abdul Fattah, from Khulna Zilla School. The other participating members include Serazus Salekin Samin, from Comilla Zilla School and Marzuq Rahman, from Cantonment English School and College.

Professor Farseem Mannan Mohammadi, from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) accompanied the team as the main leader. Ibrahim Mudassar, academic counselor of Bangladesh Science Popularisation Association and Tasnim Ara, a PhD researcher at the University of Wyoming joined as assistant team leaders. The team was trained by Raad Sharar, Arman Hassan, Niloy Kumar Mondol, Nabiha Tahseen and Muamber Sarower Nibir.

The competition challenges, stimulates, and encourages students to develop their abilities in the natural sciences while fostering and rewarding the pursuit of excellence in scientific effort. By putting these students in touch with brilliant young minds from around the world, it also gives them an incredible networking opportunity.

Given that the format is based on the general concepts in science, the syllabus for this competition is not strictly divided into the disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. This conceptual approach is also meant to encourage the development of problems of interdisciplinary content and relevance. The syllabus' content is usually based on the previous IJSO syllabus, the curricula for students up to the age of 15 in the participating nations, and the questions presented in the IJSO up until the 5th IJSO in 2008.

The academic contests comprise challenging tests in science-related subjects, including both theoretical and practical exercises. There are three exams that make up the competition, and they each run for three to four hours. Two examinations make up the theoretical section: a theoretical exam and a multiple-choice questionnaire with 30 questions. Three lab tests are part of the practical section. These exams examine a student's conceptual comprehension, clarity, and capacity to apply those concepts to the scenarios given.

The competition was held in the first week of December and witnessed the participation of more than 50 countries. The next edition of IJSO will be held in Thailand.