Report Cite This: J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Celebrating the Golden Jubilee of the International Chemistry Olympiad: Back to Where It All Began Fun Man Fung,*,†,‡ Martin Putala,§ Petr Holzhauser,∥ Ekasith Somsook,⊥ Cecilia Hernandez,# and I-Jy Chang∇ †
Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3, 117543, Singapore Institute for Application of Learning Science and Educational Technology (ALSET), University Hall, Lee Kong Chian Wing UHL #05-01D, 21 Lower Kent Ridge Road, 119077, Singapore § Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mlynská dolina, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15 Bratislava, Slovakia ∥ Department of Inorganic Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic ⊥ NANOCAST Laboratory, Center for Catalysis Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry and Center of Excellence for Innovation in Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, 272 Rama VI Road, Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400, Thailand # American Chemical Society, 1155 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036, United States ∇ Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan Normal University, 88 Tingchow Road, Section 4, Taipei 11677, Taiwan, R.O.C. ‡
ABSTRACT: The International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2018. Since 1968, 30 countries have hosted this prestigious event for preuniversity students, and 83 countries have participated in this annual tournament. The aim of the IChO includes promoting students’ interest in science, in particular, popularization of chemistry. For the jubilee celebration, IChO is returning to its birthplace, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
KEYWORDS: General Public, High School/Introductory Chemistry, Curriculum, Public Understanding/Outreach, Testing/Assessment, Professional Development, Conferences
■
n the field of chemical education, pretertiary competitions play an important part in promoting the development of talent of students from across the globe.1−5 Chief among these competitions would be the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO), which was first held in the city of Prague in 1968, at that time, the capital of Czechoslovakia.6 The aim for this competition is to stimulate the activities of students interested in chemistry by way of the independent and creative solution of chemical problems.7 The IChO competition helps to facilitate cordial relations between young adults of different nationalities; it encourages cooperation and international understanding.8 In 2018, we will celebrate the IChO’s 50th anniversary. It will be a momentous year, and this milestone is a timely occasion for us to commemorate, reflect on, and celebrate our journey as an annual event dedicated to promote science, and encourage friendship and cooperation between students.1,4−7 It is during Olympiads that close ties are established between future scientists and best practices are exchanged.7
I
© XXXX American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
ORGANIZATION OF THE ICHO COMPETITION The competition consists of two main parts, a practical (experimental) examination and the theoretical examination (Figure 1). Each examination takes about 4−5 h, with at least a day of rest between them.6,9 The theoretical examination is scored at a maximum of 60 points and the practical examination, 40 points. Each examination is evaluated independently, and the sum of the scores is used to determine the participants’ overall standing. Each participant is assigned a designated space for the theoretical and practical exam (Figure 2). Participants are able to clarify queries during both exams. While there is no fixed quota on the number of medals that can be awarded each year, gold medals are awarded to approximately the top 10% of students (Figure 3), silver medals, the Received: August 19, 2017 Revised: October 24, 2017
A
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00640 J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
Journal of Chemical Education
Report
Figure 1. During the practical (top) and theoretical tasks (bottom), participants work independently in an allocation space.
Figure 3. Gold medal awarded from the IChO.
next 20%, and bronze medals are awarded to approximately the next 30% of students. The exact number of medals awarded each year is based on the performance of the participating cohort. Honorable mentions are awarded to the next top 10 students who do not win a medal. Three special awards are given for the highest scores in theoretical, practical, and overall examinations.10 Each country’s delegation consists of up to four students and up to two mentors. Students must be under the age of 20 and must not be enrolled in any postsecondary education institution.6,10 It is also important to note that the competitors receive all the information relevant to the competition in the language of their choice. This practice helps to maintain the spirit of fairness and competition throughout the Olympiad. As such, there are two dedicated days out of the 10-day event whereby the mentors are housed in a conference room to conduct translations from the English version into their native language (Figure 4). Theoretical Concepts Syllabus
The syllabus of the Olympiad consists of a variety of subjects from the corpus of chemical knowledge including, but not limited to, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, physical chemistry, analytical chemistry, biochemistry, and spectroscopy. While most of these topics are generally taught in introductory chemistry courses in secondary education, IChO competitors are examined at a much deeper level in the Olympiad. In fact, some parts of the Olympiad require a knowledge of chemistry equivalent to postsecondary education.6,10 Participation in the Olympiad demands a high level of understanding and interest in chemistry and, importantly, an ability to relate chemical subjects with one another as well as with the practical world. Topics that are expected to be understood by all IChO participants are listed in the IChO regulations.10,11 Some of these topics include Hund’s rule, the Pauli exclusion principle, chemical equilibrium, Le Châtelier’s principle, the Nernst equation,
Figure 2. Floor plan of the practical and theoretical examinations with country and candidate code. Each participant is assigned a designated space. B
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00640 J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
Journal of Chemical Education
Report
Figure 4. Mentors of every country delegation translating the examination questions into their native language.
electrolysis, Faraday’s laws, rate constant, reaction, Hess’s law, the ideal gas law, the Lambert−Beer law, isomerism, and stereochemistry.
Figure 5. Photograph shows the IChO flag being handed over to the hosts for the 50th IChO in The Czech Republic and Slovakia. This will be the first time two countries cohost the event.
Laboratory Skills
As for the practical exam, the following skills are some of those listed in the regulations that participants should have acquired: chemical synthesis, heating under reflux, operation of a magnetic stirrer, carrying out of test tube reactions, volumetric determination, titrations, and qualitative testing for organic functional groups (using a given procedure).9,10
topics, they have to include them in the preparatory problem set that will be publicly available on the host’s Web site.10,11
■
BACKGROUND OF THE COMPETITION
Brief History of the International Chemistry Olympiad
Advance Topics Can Be Included
The IChO began its maiden competition in 1968 with only 3 participating countries (Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland) and 18 competing students. Since then, this annual competition was held annually except in the year 1971 (Table 1).6,7 The following year, IChO introduced the preparatory problems to improve
Aside from the listed syllabus, the host’s scientific committee (SC) has the prerogative to include up to 6 theoretical and 2 practical topics from the listed advance topics, or other topics of similar breadth. Once the SC has decided on the advance
Table 1. Monumental Events in the History of the International Chemistry Olympiad Year
Significant Milestones in the History of IChO
1968 1971 1972 1975 1976 1977 1980 1984 1985 1987 1988 1992
3 participating countries (Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland), 18 competing students The only year when IChO was not held (due to political reasons) Preparatory tasks introduced Arbitration between authors and mentors: participation from more than 10 countries Quick translations into national languages First medals awarded at the closing ceremony IChO held in western country English as the only official language (until then, simultaneous interpretation into English, German, French, and Russian); first delegation from Americas: United States of America IChO flag created and handed over to the next organizer at the closing ceremony More than 100 participants; first delegation from Asia: China First delegation from Southeast Asia and Oceania: Singapore and Australia Computers first used instead of typewriters; first IChO hosted outside Europe
1993 1995 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2016 2017
Silver jubilee of IChO; Competition newspaper, “Catalyzer”, daily chronicle of competition created Competition first held in Asia Competition first held in the Southern Hemisphere Participation from more than 50 countries More than 200 participants First delegation from Africa: Egypt The highest number of theoretical tasks ever: 35 Emergency IChO, prepared in 6 months Current IChO
25th 27th 30th 31st 32nd 34th 35th 48th 49th
2018
Golden jubilee of IChO
50th C
Edition
Host Country
Host City
1st
Czechoslovakia
Prague
4th 7th 8th 9th 12th 16th
Soviet Union Hungary East Germany Czechoslovakia Austria West Germany
Moscow Veszprém Halle Bratislava Linz Frankfurt
17th 19th 20th 24th
Czechoslovakia Hungary Finland United States of America Italy China Australia Thailand Denmark The Netherlands Greece Georgia Thailand
Bratislava Veszprém Espoo Pittsburgh
Slovakia and The Czech Republic
Perugia Beijing Melbourne Bangkok Copenhagen Groningen Athens Tbilisi Nakhon Pathom Bratislava and Prague
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00640 J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
Journal of Chemical Education
■
participant readiness, and this has been practiced ever since. In 1975, the first arbitration before authors and mentors took place; this exercise is to ensure fair grading across all participants. The year after, a schedule was built in the event for translation of the exams into various national languages. In 1977, the first IChO medals were awarded. Coincidentally, this monumental event took place in Czechoslovakia, the country where IChO was born. Since then, there were new breakthroughs in IChO: more than 100 participants (1987); official daily newsletter publication covering the event (1992); first Asian host, China (1995); first delegation from Africa, Egypt (2002).6
Report
REFERENCES
(1) Ř ezanka, P.; Šimůnek, O.; Zajícová, M.; Mika, L.; Bartoň, J.; Ř ezanka, M. Fast and Attractive Chemical Education: A Chemical Competition for High School Students in the Czech Republic. J. Chem. Educ. 2013, 90, 1259−1262. (2) Guzei, I. A. Celebrating the International Year of Crystallography with a Wisconsin High School Crystal Growing Competition. J. Chem. Educ. 2014, 91, 2013−2017. (3) Belford, R.; Meyers, F.; Sözbilir, M.; Cardellini, L. ConfChem Conference on a Virtual Colloquium to Sustain and Celebrate IYC 2011 Initiatives in Global Chemical Education: Introduction. J. Chem. Educ. 2013, 90, 1540−1541. (4) Khalil, L. I.; Chahine, K. M.; Kaafarani, B. R. International Organic Chemistry Competition: A Thrilling, Unique Experience. J. Chem. Educ. 2015, 92, 401−404. (5) Svechkarev, D.; Grygorovych, O. V. Tournament of Young Chemists in Ukraine: Engaging Students in Chemistry through a RolePlaying Game-Style Competition. J. Chem. Educ. 2016, 93, 874−878. (6) Eremin, V. V.; Gladilin, A. K. International Chemistry Olympiad and Its Role in Chemical Education. Russ. J. Gen. Chem. 2013, 83, 830−838. (7) Elizbarashvili, E.; Ochkhikidze, N.; Khatisashvili, G. IChO-48 An Extraordinary Olympiad of Chemistry. Chem. Int. 2016, 38, 4−7. (8) 44th International Chemistry Olympiad. https://acswebcontent. acs.org/icho2012/ (accessed Oct 2017). (9) Nick, S.; Nather, C. Analysis of a Superconductor: Development of a Practical Exam for the International Chemistry Olympiad. J. Chem. Educ. 2007, 84, 1951−1954. (10) Regulations of the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO). http://www.ichosc.org/documents-of-the-icho/regulations (accessed Oct 2017). (11) IChO Steering Committee. http://www.ichosc.org/home (accessed Oct 2017). (12) 49th International Chemistry Olympiad. https://icho2017.sc. mahidol.ac.th/ (accessed Oct 2017).
Obligations of the Host Country
Countries are free to submit their bid to host the IChO with the support of their government ministries. Normally, the host country partners with a university with the support of the national chemical institute. The official letter from the government ministry and a formal presentation will be shown to all the mentors of the delegations in the international jury meeting, during which the jury will vote to decide on the future host.10,11 The country chosen to organize the Olympiad shall be responsible for, among other duties, the itinerary of the IChO, venues, transportation of delegates, the medals, certificates, and prizes.7,10 At least 5 months prior to the beginning of the competition, a meeting of the Steering Committee must be hosted in the country organizing the IChO for that year.8 Milestone of the 49th IChO
For the 49th IChO, there were in total 296 students from 76 countries who participated in the weeklong competition. The committee awarded 36 gold medals, 65 silver medals, and 95 bronze medals.12 This is the record-breaking year in which IChO had the highest number of student participants. In the closing ceremony at the Prince Mahidol Hall, the official IChO flag was handed over to two representatives for the hosts in the 50th edition.12 This was a historic moment as it will be the first time two countries cohost this event (Figure 5).
■
CONCLUSION Countries around the world have come a long way together as one IChO community, and together, we can achieve even more. This 50th year celebration is not just about celebrating the achievements of the IChO but, more importantly, the people who have helped usher it into the future.
■
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected]. ORCID
Fun Man Fung: 0000-0003-4106-3174 Ekasith Somsook: 0000-0002-4659-8349 I-Jy Chang: 0000-0001-5565-8174 Notes
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
■
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to thank their colleagues who have initiated hosting of the 50th IChO. The IChO Steering Committee pays tribute to all the previous IChO hosts, participants, mentors, and everyone who played a part. F.M.F. appreciates the support from Aaron Jeyaraj, Ben Pilgrim, Tsung-Shing Andrew Wang, and Worawan Bhanthumnavin. D
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00640 J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
