Singapore Students Pursuing Their Passions at International Competitions

1. Congratulations to our students for pursuing their passions and flying the Singapore flag high at the International Young Physicists’ Tournament and the International Olympiads for the Sciences, Mathematics, Informatics and Geography, held from July to September 2018 at various host cities around the world.

59th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO)

2. For starters, the Singapore team won two Gold medals, three Silver medals and one Bronze medal at the IMO held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, from 3 to 14 July 2018. The IMO challenged students to apply high-level problem solving skills and present rigorous proofs to support their solutions. Singapore was placed 8th in a field of 107 countries/territories, featuring a total of 594 participants.

**Refer to http://www.imo2018.org/ for more information on the IMO.

29th International Biology Olympiad (IBO)

3. The Singapore team also garnered three Gold medals and one Silver medal at the IBO held in Tehran, Iran, from 15 to 22 July 2018. The students went through a diverse range of Biological tasks, including the dissection and identification of the internal structure of the Persian leech, purification of a bacterial protein and investigation of the behaviour of fruit fly larvae. Singapore was placed joint 3rd in a field of 68 countries/territories, featuring 261 participants in all.

**Refer to http://ibo2018.org/ for more information on the IBO.

31st International Young Physicists' Tournament (IYPT)

4. Competing against 31 other countries/territories, the Singapore team emerged overall champion at this year’s IYPT held in Beijing, China, from 19 to 26 July 2018. The IYPT is organised around “physics fights”, that mimic discussions at research conferences, where participants present their research and provide constructive feedback on the work of other teams.

**Refer to http://www.iypt.org/Tournaments/Beijing for more information on the IYPT.

50th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO)

5. The Singapore team secured two Gold medals and two Silver medals at the IChO held in Bratislava, Slovakia and Prague, Czech Republic, from 19 to 29 July 2018. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the IChO, students were provided with preparatory problems that exposed them to the Chemistry behind oscillating reactions. Singapore was placed 6th in a field of 76 countries/territories, boasting 300 participants in total.

**Refer to http://www.50icho.eu for more information on the IChO.

49th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO)

6. The Singapore team won four Gold medals and one Silver medal at the IPhO in Lisbon, Portugal, from 21 to 29 July 2018. Students conducted experiments relating to paper transistors for future use in smart packaging, and modelled the destruction of a tumour based on the collapse of blood vessels, due to pressure increases. Singapore was placed joint 3rd in a field of 87 countries/territories with 396 participants.

**Refer to http://www.ipho2018.pt/ for more information on the IPhO.

15th International Geography Olympiad (iGeo)

7. The Singapore team bagged one Gold medal, two Silver medals and one Bronze medal at the iGeo in Québec City, Canada, from 31 July to 6 August 2018. The iGeo tested students’ ability to apply their knowledge across a wide range of topics, spanning both Physical and Human Geography. Students also honed their skills of observation, mapping and spatial analysis through fieldwork exercises. Singapore was placed 2nd in a field of 43 countries/territories with 165 participants.

**Refer to http://www.geoolympiad.org/ for more information on the iGeo.

30th International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI)

8. The Singapore team secured 1 Gold medal, 2 Silver medals and 1 Bronze medal at the IOI held in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan from 1 to 8 September 2018. During the competition, students faced challenging computational problems which tested their ability to design and implement efficient algorithms and data structures. Singapore was placed joint 9th in a field of 87 countries/territories with 341 participants.

**Refer to https://ioi2018.jp/ for more information on the IOI

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 National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University.