Pakistani team won Two Bronze medals in International Biology Olympiad (IBO), held in Astana, Kazakhstan from July 7-14, 2024. Ms. ZohaAsif from Nixorcollege, Karachi and Mr. SobanSafdar from FFC Grammar School, MirpurMathelo won the bronze medal for Pakistan in IBO 2024. The Pakistan team participated in the Olympiad under the sponsorship of STEM Careers program, which is a joint venture of Higher Education Commission (HEC)& Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Science (PIEAS). The biology team was trained by Dr. Asma Imran and Dr. Amir Ali from the National Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad, which is also a constituent college of PIEAS university, Islamabad.
PIEAS is responsible for managing the STEM Careers program and have made great efforts in providing an enabling platform that supports students’ engagement in STEM fields and ensure that participants are well-equipped for the challenges and opportunities of the future. PIEAS conducts a National Science Talent Contest (NSTC) each year under the umbrella of STEM careers program. The students selected under NSTC are further trained for participation in the International Science Olympiads (ISOs), which is the most prestigious competition for young schools and college students. The teams in the four subjects Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics are selected through a country wide NSTC held each year in 19 cities across Pakistan. The Top 50 students in the screening test are initially invited for residential training camp in Home Institutes of each subject. The grooming or selection process after multiple training camps gradually narrows down this number to 4-6 best students in each of these subjects for participation in ISOs. The activities of training camps in HIs are managed through the STEM Careers program office in HEC. NIBGE(PIEAS) is a Home Institute for Biology, HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, University of Karachi is a Home Institute for Chemistry, COMSATS-Lahore is a Home Institute for Mathematics, and PIEAS is a Home Institue for Physics. Pakistan is regularly participating in the International Physics Olympiad since 2001, in the Mathematics Olympiad since 2005 and in the Biology and Chemistry Olympiad since 2006. Since its inception, more than 350 students have been able to participate in the ISOs, winning 134 medals. With more than 240 training camps, 4000 students have received training in the Home Institutes through this program.
