BOC sponsors 5 Sri Lankan students who excelled at International Junior Science Olympiad in Qatar

The Sri Lankan team. From left: Leader – Biology Prof. W.U. Chandrasekara, Leader – Chemistry Prof. N.A.K.P.J. Senevirathne, Kewwen Kurunarathna, Sithum Fernando, Gangadhee Iru Kumrasiri, Ravidu Ranatunga, Ravidu Kannangara, Ananthakrishnan Apilaash, IJSO Country Coordinator and Leader – Physics Prof. H.H. Sumathiapla 

As part of assisting Sri Lankan youth to excel as young scientists at global level, Bank of Ceylon has sponsored five Sri Lankan students who won Bronze medals at the 16th International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO 2019) last December. The IJSO 2019 was held in Doha, Qatar from 3 to 12 December 2019. The event was organised by the Qatar Ministry of Education and Higher Education in collaboration with Qatar University.

This international event hosted around 409 bright students from 70 countries around the world, who met during this prestigious academic event to test their knowledge and skills in physics, biology and chemistry. The competition comprised two individual theoretical tests followed by a practical test. Both subject and practical knowledge on biology, chemistry and physics are tested simultaneously through these rigorous tests and the best performing students and the teams were selected. 

The Sri Lankan team to the IJSO led by the IJSO country coordinator Prof. H.H. Sumathiapla left for the event with the sponsorship provided by the Bank of Ceylon (BOC), as the bank has been helping to promote science education in Sri Lanka for a considerable period of time. Since 2016, the BOC makes generous donations to the Institute of Physics Sri Lanka enabling the Sri Lankan teams to participate at the International Junior Science Olympiads held in Indonesia (2016), Netherlands (2017), Botswana (2018) and Qatar (2019) respectively.

The IJSO is a major international educational competition held annually for young school children aged 15 years and below, to recognise the significance of natural Sciences in general education and in all aspects of their lives. Therefore, this competition introduces the students, at a young age, to an international network of beta enthusiasts. In addition it promotes and rewards the pursuit of excellence in scientific endeavour and stimulates gifted students to further develop their talents in Natural Sciences.

Each year, Sri Lanka participates at the IJSO with six students who are trained by three university academics. The students for the IJSO are selected through the Sri Lankan Junior Science Olympiad (SLJSO), an examination held locally at each competition year.