Olympiad Diaries
Day 4
Day 4
Today the participants of the Open International Biology Olympiad (OIBO) had an excursion to the sleigh and bobsleigh track — the only one in Russia that meets the standards of international level competitions. During the tour the participants got acquainted with the equipment used by professional athletes in skeleton, bobsleigh and sleigh. They also had the opportunity to talk to the staff of the complex and ask questions about this sports facility.
Dmitry Titkov, a schoolboy from Kazakhstan, considers Sirius an ideal place for development. "Here you can not only study, but also participate in additional activities — both sports and arts," he says. His passion for biology began at the end of sixth grade. The tenth-grader has not yet decided about his future profession, but he plans to connect his life with biology: to become a microbiologist or go in for medicine.
"In elementary school I did well in biology classes, so my teacher suggested I participate in the Olympiad. That’s how my path in the Olympiad movement began. It is difficult for me to single out one field of science that I like most of all. I am interested in geography and chemistry, but I feel most confident in biology. I came to OIBO to gain new knowledge and experience, as well as to meet like-minded people. We have already passed the practical round: the tasks were very interesting, but at the same time challenging. Sirius has created an excellent learning environment. And for young biologists, there is a park with unique plants and even a pond with frogs, which, unfortunately, cannot be caught," says Dmitry with a smile.
"In elementary school I did well in biology classes, so my teacher suggested I participate in the Olympiad. That’s how my path in the Olympiad movement began. It is difficult for me to single out one field of science that I like most of all. I am interested in geography and chemistry, but I feel most confident in biology. I came to OIBO to gain new knowledge and experience, as well as to meet like-minded people. We have already passed the practical round: the tasks were very interesting, but at the same time challenging. Sirius has created an excellent learning environment. And for young biologists, there is a park with unique plants and even a pond with frogs, which, unfortunately, cannot be caught," says Dmitry with a smile.
In the evening participants visited the skating rink, took part in creative master classes, as well as prepared independently for tomorrow’s theoretical round of the Olympiad.
Evgeny Shilov, deputy chairman of the OIBO scientific committee, spoke about the difficulties schoolchildren face every year at the Olympiads and what skills a participant should have.
"You need to be able not just to read letters, but to extract the meaning embedded in the text. Often the tasks are composed in such a way that the answer is already hidden in the question. Attention, ability to read and interpret what you have read is a more important skill than memorised formulas," says Evgeny. — "The main difficulty is the lack of time. The Biology Olympiad is also aimed at the ability to concentrate and make the most of the time allotted for completing tasks. Not everyone can do it".
"You need to be able not just to read letters, but to extract the meaning embedded in the text. Often the tasks are composed in such a way that the answer is already hidden in the question. Attention, ability to read and interpret what you have read is a more important skill than memorised formulas," says Evgeny. — "The main difficulty is the lack of time. The Biology Olympiad is also aimed at the ability to concentrate and make the most of the time allotted for completing tasks. Not everyone can do it".
