UOIT training camp prepares high school students for international biology competition

A training camp hosted at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) was key to helping four Canadian high school students bring back medals from the International Biology Olympiad (IBO), held in Bali, Indonesia from July 6 to 13.

“Congratulations to all of our Canadian students for their incredible success at the International Biology Olympiad,” said Sylvie Bardin, Teaching Faculty, Biology, who organized the camp and accompanied the students to the IBO as a Jury Member. “We are so proud of their accomplishments and are pleased that UOIT was able to help prepare these students for an opportunity of a lifetime.”

The IBO is an intense biology competition for students in grades 10 to 12. It includes both theoretical and practical exams that focus on the skills necessary to investigate biological problems and conduct experiments. Participating countries send their top four students – winners of their respective National Biology Olympiads. This year, more than 240 students from 61 countries competed in the IBO.

UOIT’s Faculty of Science hosted a training camp from June 29 to July 3 to help prepare Canada’s IBO competitors for the practical component of the competition. Seven other high school students also participated in the camp. Workshop topics included:

• Cell and molecular biology
• Ecology
• Microbiology
• Physiology
• Plant biology

All four Canadian IBO competitors came home with medals.

Silver:

• Jack Kang, Western Canada High School, Calgary, Alberta
• Bill Jia, University of Toronto Schools, Toronto, Ontario

Bronze:

• Yun Lan (Adele) Sun, North Toronto Collegiate Institute, Toronto, Ontario
• William Wang, University of Toronto Schools, Toronto, Ontario