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Strong performance in the International Biological Olympiad

Norway took its first bronze medal ever in the International Biological Olympiad in Hungary. Anna Braathen received a bronze medal and Heidi Berg received an honorable mention, merit. Norway has never had such a good team effort overall.

Group of 7 people

From left: Malin Benum Røe, Heidi Berg, Solveig Eline Berg, Maren Norderud, Finn-Eirik Johansen, Anna Braathen, Michelle Hauge. Photo: UiO.

For the first time, Norway has won a medal in the International Biological Olympiad. Anna Braathen received a bronze medal, and Heidi Berg managed to achieve honorable mention (merit). This year's biology students made a historically good effort, and were very strong overall.

Woman
Anna Braathen received a bronze medal in the International Biological Olympiad in Hungary. Photo: UiO.

There were six demanding exams, two theoretical and four practical, and otherwise they were given the opportunity to experience Hungarian culture and get to know people from all over the world. Next summer, the international final will be in Nagasaki, Japan.

Knowledge competition in Biology

The Biology Olympiad is a Norwegian knowledge competition in Biology, where schools from all over the country participate. The goal is to increase interest in biology in Norwegian schools, and give students a chance to compete at international level. This is the fourth year in which the Department of Biosciences and the School Laboratory of Biology are organizing the Norwegian Biological Olympiad.

In previous years, the difficult practical tasks have often been Norwegian students' Achilles heel. Biology education in high school has less laboratory and field work than many countries it is natural to compare with. To make up for this, the students received a compendium of lab assignments taken from relevant IBV topics sent in advance, and during the training week just before leaving for Hungary they were rehearsed in the lab for four long days. This produced results for all four, which did better on the practical tasks than the previous Norwegian participants, and it resulted in the first Norwegian medal.

Nasjonale olympiader i realfag

Norwegian students participate each year in international Olympiads in biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, geosciences and informatics. The goal is to stimulate school students with an interest in science to continue their work with the subjects. Emphasis is placed on the value of professional and social contact with peers from many countries. The best students are selected by means of competitions, and are allowed to take part in training sessions at the universities before being sent to the International Olympiad.

More about the Biology Olympiad

Published Aug. 19, 2019 3:54 PM - Last modified Aug. 20, 2019 10:28 AM