Strong Showing by Singapore Students at International Olympiads

Singapore students clinched first place in the International Chemistry and Biology Olympiads, and brought home a total of 14 gold medals, 12 silver medals, two bronze medals, and one honourable mention

The Ministry of Education (MOE) congratulates all students for their excellent performance in the International Olympiads for Geography, Informatics, Mathematics and the Sciences, and the Online Young Physicists' Tournament¹, which were held either overseas or virtually from July to September this year. Our students benefitted from the opportunity to interact with like-minded peers from all around the world, and they continued to fly the Singapore flag high in the international arena.

55th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO)²

2. The Singapore team secured four Gold medals at the 55th IChO held in Zurich, Switzerland, from 16 to 25 July 2023, and emerged joint 1st out of 89 countries/territories and 348 participants. This is the first time Singapore has obtained first place since we first participated in the IChO in 1988. The Singapore team was also one of two countries where all team members obtained gold medals³. This year's IChO required students to compete in both experimental and theory components. In the experimental component, students were tasked to conduct organic synthesis, complexometric titration, and qualitative analysis to determine the identity of unknown ions in aqueous solutions. In the theoretical component, students were given the opportunity to explore a range of tasks related to artificial photosynthesis, molecular imaging, electrochemical carbon dioxide conversion, and drug synthesis.

34th International Biology Olympiad (IBO)⁴

3. The Singapore team clinched four Gold medals at the 34th IBO held in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, from 2 to 11 July 2023, and emerged 1st out of 76 countries/territories⁵ and 293 participants. The Singapore team was one of only two countries where all team members obtained gold medals⁶. The IBO required students to pit their skills and knowledge against their peers in both practical and theory components. In the practical component, students were challenged with four practical tasks on the topic of ecology and ethology, plant molecular biology, biochemistry, and bioinformatics. In the theory component, students had to answer theoretical questions across a myriad of topics, including animal and plant anatomy and physiology, cell biology, genetics and evolution, and biosystematics.

19th International Geography Olympiad (iGeo)⁷

4. The Singapore team won two Gold medals, one Silver medal, and one Bronze medal at the 19th iGeo held in Bandung, Indonesia, from 8 to 13 August 2023, and placed 2nd out of 46 countries/territories and 177 participants. The iGeo comprised a series of challenging written, fieldwork, and multimedia tests, and students had to demonstrate their depth of knowledge and understanding across a wide range of physical and human geography topics, including the investigation and analysis of geographical concepts in Bandung.

35th International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI)⁸

5. The Singapore team won one Gold medal, two Silver medals, and one Bronze medal at the 35th IOI held in Szeged, Hungary, from 28 August to 4 September 2023, and they placed 10th out of 89 countries/territories and 354 participants. The IOI required students to design and implement efficient algorithms and data structures to overcome challenging computational problems.

64th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO)⁹

6. The Singapore team won two Gold medals, three Silver medals, and one Honourable Mention at the 64th IMO held in Chiba, Japan, from 3 to 13 July 2023, and they placed 12th out of 112 countries/territories and 618 participants. The IMO required students to solve six challenging problems on topics such as number theory and geometry.

53rd International Physics Olympiad (IPhO)¹⁰

7. The Singapore team won five Silver medals at the 53rd IPhO hosted in Tokyo, Japan, from 10 to 17 July 2023, and they came in joint 15th out of 80 countries/territories and 387 participants. The IPhO tested students on their knowledge, critical thinking, problem solving, presentation and analysis, and hands-on skills in both experimental and theoretical physics. In the experimental component, students were challenged to determine an unknown mass using resonance characteristics, as well as quantify the thickness of a quartz plate using optical birefringence. In the theoretical examination, students had to answer questions based on a range of both classical and modern physics topics, such as the characterisation of soil colloids, determining properties of neutron stars, and fluid mechanics.

Online Young Physicists' Tournament (OYPT) 2023¹¹

8. Singapore sent two teams for the OYPT hosted virtually by Germany, from 2 to 6 August 2023. The teams came in 1st and 3rd in the preliminary rounds, out of 18 teams. The first-place team in the preliminary rounds proceeded to the final round and clinched the overall championship, while the team that came in 3rd during the preliminary rounds was awarded honorary silver for their outstanding performance. The OYPT required students to solve complicated real-world physics problems, as well as communicate and defend their ideas through rigorous scientific research and discussions.

Footnotes

1. Our students' participation in these international competitions is a joint effort between MOE and the following organisations: Singapore Mathematical Society; Singapore Institute of Biology; Institute of Physics, Singapore; DSO National Laboratories; Singapore National Institute of Chemistry; Geography Teachers' Association of Singapore; National University of Singapore; and the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University.

2. Please refer to https://www.icho2023.ch for more information on the 55th IChO.

3. The other country where all team members obtained gold medals was China.

4. Please refer to https://ibo2023.ae for more information on the 34th iBO

5. Singapore had last clinched first place in 2016.

6. The other country where all team members obtained gold medals was India.

7. Please refer to https://2023.geoolympiad.id for more information on the 19th iGeo.

8. Please refer to https://ioi2023.hu for more information on the 35th IOI.

9. Please refer to https://imo2023.jp/en for more information on the 64th IMO.

10. Please refer to https://ipho2023.jp/en for more information on the 53rd IPhO.

11. Please refer to https://oypt.nlogn.org for more information on the OYPT.