At this year’s International Science Olympiads, Pakistan’s team racked up the awards with seven bronze medals and two honorable mentions. The teams, selected by the STEM Careers Programme (SCP), participated in the International Biology (IBO), Chemistry (IChO), Mathematics (IMO), and Physics (IPhO) Olympiads. Congratulations to the bronze medal winners: Mahym Mansoor and Tayyaba Maqbool Malik in Biology, Saman Zia and Nayha Enver in Chemistry, Waqar Ali Syed in Mathematics, and Zain Ul Abideen Ali Khas in Physics. It is note-worthy that four of the six winners were women — note-worthy because the pool from which the girls were selected was far smaller than the pool from which the boys were selected. In all, 56 countries participated in IBO, 64 countries participated in IChO, 104 countries in IMO, and 72 countries participated in IPhO.
Kudos, as well, to the organizers and team-leaders: Dr. Zafar M Khalid and Dr. Muhammad Saeed of NIBGE Faisalabad and Al Hasanat Rasul of STEM Careers Programme (IBO), Dr. Khalid M Khan and Dr. Raza Shah of HEJ Research Institute, Karachi (IChO). Dr. A D Raza Choudary and Dr. Ahmed Mahmood Qureshi of ASSMS, GCU, Lahore (IMO), and Dr Shahid Qamar and Dr Masroor Ikram of PIEAS, Islamabad (IPO). This is an outstanding initiative undertaken by SCP, HEC, and the mentoring institutions: HEJ, NIBGE, ASSMS, and PIEAS.
Further details on the STEM and the Olympiad can be found here.
Way to go. The students, as well as their mentors, deserve lots of congratulations!