Pakistan wins two bronze medals in International Biology Olympiad 2024
Sports
Zoha Asif from Karachi, and Soban Safdar from Mirpur Mathelo won the medals
ISLAMABAD (APP) - In a significant achievement, the Pakistani team won two bronze medals in the International Biology Olympiad (IBO), held in Astana, Kazakhstan, from July 7–14.
Zoha Asif from Karachi, and Soban Safdar from Mirpur Mathelo, won the bronze medal for Pakistan in the IBO 2024.
The Pakistan team participated in the Olympiad under the sponsorship of the STEM Careers program, which is a joint venture of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Science (PIEAS).
According to PIEAS, the biology team was trained by Dr. Asma Imran and Dr. Amir Ali from the National Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad, which is also a constituent college of PIEAS University, Islamabad.
PIEAS is responsible for managing the STEM Careers program and has made great efforts to provide an enabling platform that supports students’ engagement in STEM fields and ensures that participants are well-equipped for the challenges and opportunities of the future.
PIEAS conducts a National Science Talent Contest (NSTC) each year under the umbrella of the STEM careers program.
The students selected under NSTC are further trained for participation in the International Science Olympiads (ISOs), which is the most prestigious competition for young school and college students.
The teams in the four subjects of physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics are selected through a country-wide NSTC held each year in 19 cities across Pakistan.
The top 50 students in the screening test are initially invited to residential training camps in the home institutes of each subject.
The grooming or selection process after multiple training camps gradually narrows down this number to 4-6 best students in each of these subjects for participation in ISOs.
The activities of training camps in HIs are managed through the STEM Careers program office in HEC.
NIBGE (PIEAS) is a home institute for biology; HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry; the University of Karachi is a home institute for chemistry; COMSATS-Lahore is a home institute for mathematics; and PIEAS is a home institute for physics.
Pakistan has been regularly participating in the International Physics Olympiad since 2001, the Mathematics Olympiad since 2005, and the Biology and Chemistry Olympiad since 2006.
Since its inception, more than 350 students have been able to participate in the ISOs, winning 134 medals.
With more than 240 training camps, 4000 students have received training in the Home Institutes through this program.
