The International Biology Olympiad
The International Biology Olympiad (IBO) is a competition for secondary school students. Their skills in tackling biological problems, and dealing with biological experiments are tested. Interest in biology, inventiveness, creativity and perseverance are necessary. Every participating country sends four students, who are the winners of the respective national competitions. They are accompanied by two team leaders, who sit on the international jury.
In bringing together gifted students from around the world, the IBO challenges and stimulates these students to develop their understanding of biology and promotes their career as scientists by fostering academic excellence. In the spirit of the sporting Olympics the IBO fosters cultural understanding between the nations of the world and the friendships formed between students from around the globe are life changing. Students also develop an understanding of the global nature of scientific endeavour. The Olympiad focuses on biology as a beautiful and valuable subject and stresses the importance of biology for society, especially in areas such as environmental protection, global warming and species conservation. The IBO also provides a great opportunity to compare educational methods and exchange experiences between participating countries.
The competition itself is composed of a theoretical and practical element. The theory exams cover a wide range of Biology: Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Plant Anatomy and Physiology, Animal Anatomy and Physiology, Ethology, Genetics and Evolution, Ecology, and Biosystematics. The marks are scaled so that the theory and practical components have equal weighting. All participants are ranked based on their individual scores. Gold medals are awarded to the top ten percent of students, silver medals are awarded to the next twenty percent of students and bronze medals are awarded to the next thirty percent of students.
The official language of the IBO is English.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Biology_Olympiad
