Introduction

  Sight of the Syrian Science Olympiad

For many years we have been trying to steer youth towards education and scientific activities. This desire can be accomplished by way of new techniques which aim at attracting and catching the youth attention. Therefore, scientific competitions are considered the best means to meet our ends.

The main goal is to form a team of young people who exhibit excellence as regards the scientific field. Those young people will be as role models for the Syrian youth. In order to attain that purpose, this team ought to be engaged in scientific activities that will motivate them to be high achievers in science.

International Science Olympiads have proved to be the best means for that end. They are practical and theoretical scientific contests for high school students. Many countries compete fiercely, in that regard, in order to achieve global supremacy.

what is Syrian Science Olympiad ?

Syrian Science Olympiad is a contest in the basic  sciences / Mathematics – Physics – Chemistry -  Informatics / for the pre-university students which aims to create iconic creative generation of young people able to act and interact with the science and knowledge era

The competition will be held for these majors / Mathematics – Physics – Chemistry - Informatics / Through tests on several stages;

1-      First stage: schools level

2-      Second stage: regions level

3-      Third stage: governorate level

4-      Fourth stage: country level

 Objectives

- Building highly-qualified science teams in order to participate in national, Arab, regional and, in particular, international Olympiads. It is worth mentioning that international Olympiads focus their attention on the students' intelligence and ability to solve complicated and difficult scientific problems based on their basic scholastic education from high school. Therefore, these Olympiads are, in essence, different from the traditional curriculums of schools which do not delve  into the wide range of information they offer. As far as Syria is concerned, we need to cover additional scientific topics that are not included in the current curriculum. In addition, we need to go deeply into the basic scientific concepts and develop the skills of critical thinking and problem solving in our students. Hence, we need to bridge the gap between the scientific level of our students and that of students from the developed world in order to reach the international level required for the international Olympiads.

 - Testing new methods and approaches to teaching and learning and adopting what suits the national and local circumstances. That shall include the following:

1-    Testing those methodologies through selecting a number of students and testing those students before and after applying those methodologies.

2-    Upgrading the curriculum and syllabuses that meet project objectives.

3-    Training and qualifying teams of teachers and scientific cadres to take part in the project.

4-    Using the most updated and advanced high-tech facilities available as well as the English language.

5-    Promoting a new scientific culture in an attractive and intriguing manner amongst the youth.

 Current Target Groups

Tenth grade high school students, the scientific stream, are the target group for the time being. They have been chosen at this stage due to the fact that this stage will provide a period of two or more years in order to train and qualify them so as to participate in the international Olympiads. They are trained until they finish high school since they are not allowed to participate in the international Olympiads unless they are under twenty years of age, and if they are university or college students.

 A Brief Summary of the Project

The Syrian Science Olympiads began in 2006 by means of running competitions nationwide starting in schools, regions and, later on, governorates. Based on those results, teams of 15 contestants are formed for each governorate in order to participate in the finals, where the total number of teams members for each governorate amounts to 215. Later on, the top ten students will be selected for each specialization.

Participation in International Olympics

International Olympiads in physics, chemistry ,mathematics and Informatics are considered to be one of the most significant international science competitions for young people before entering college and universities. These Olympiads are held annually in summer, and most world countries feel excited about and look forward to participating in them in order to win first place. They are a symbol of great scientific achievements that will list the country among the most distinct countries in the scientific field all over the world.

The Syrian national team is qualified and trained in order to participate in the International Science Olympiads under the sponsorship of the National Commission for the Syrian Science Olympiad. That is prepared for by means of meetings, workshops, scientific training courses and foreign language courses in cooperation with the scientific contributing partners.

Syrian Participation in International Olympiads

A-  Participation in 2008

1-    International Chemistry Olympiad: it was held in Budapest, Hungary, on July 12-21, 2008. Syria was an observer. The Syrian delegation consisted of  two supervisors and three students who won in the 2008 National Olympiad.

2-    International Mathematical Olympiad: it was held in Madrid, Spain, on July 10-22, 2008. Syria was an observer. The Syrian delegation consisted of two supervisors only since the students were not accepted as visitors by the hosting country.

3-    International Physics Olympiad: it was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, on July 20-29, 2008. Syria was an observer. The Syrian delegation consisted of one supervisor and five students who won in the 2008 and 2009 National Olympiads.

 B-   Participation in 2009

1-    International Mathematical Olympiad: it was held in Germany, on July 10-22, 2009.

2-    International Chemistry Olympiad: it was held at Cambridge University and Oxford University, UK, on July 18-27, 2009. Syria was an observer. The Syrian delegation consisted of two supervisors.

3-    International Physics Olympiad: it was held in Merida, Mexico, on July 12-19, 2009. Syria did not participate due to the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico.

 C-  Participation in 2010

 1-    International Chemistry Olympiad: it was held in Japan, on July 19-28, 2010.

2-    International Mathematics Olympiad: it was held in Kazakhstan, on July 2-14, 2010. Syria received two honorable mentions.

3-    International Physics Olympiad: it was held in Croatia, on July 17-25, 2010.

4-    Arab Chemistry Olympiad: it was held in the United Arab Emirates, on July 31 to August 4, 2010. Syria won two silver medals and two bronze medals.

 D-  Participation in 2011

 1-    International Mathematics Olympiad: which was held in Netherlands ,on July 16-24, 2011. Syria received one honorable mention.

2-    International Chemistry Olympiad: which was held in Turkey, on july 9-18,2011

3-    International Physics Olympiad: which was held in Thailand , on july 10-18, 2011 

4 -    Asian Mathematics Olympiad : which was held in Japan in march 2011

E - Participation in 2012

1-    International Mathematics Olympiad: which was held in Argentine, on July 4-16, 2012, where Syrian team received one honorable mention.

2-    International Chemistry Olympiad: which was held in United States of  America, on July 21-30, 2012

3-    International Physics Olympiad: which was held in Estonia , on July 15-24,2012 where Syrian team received three honorable mentions.

4-    International Informatics Olympiad; which was held in Italy, on September 23-30,2012  where Syrian team won one bronze medal.

5-    Asian Mathematics Olympiad: which was held in Japan, on 13/3/2012 , where Syrian team received tow honorable mentions.

 Chairman of the National Commission for the Syrian Science Olympiad

Emad Alazeb