11th grade schoolboy from Karaganda hauls silver at international chemistry olympiad in Brazil
An 11th-grader from Karaganda took second place at the 59th International Mendeleev Chemistry Olympiad in Brazil. Schoolchildren from 40 countries took part in it. All of them are the students of 10th to 12th grades, Kazinform News Agency reports.
The Olympiad featured three rounds: two focused on theory and one on practical application.
Sanzhar Kaliakbar, an 11th grade student of Karaganda-based Bilim-Innovation Lyceum stunned the jury and secured a silver medal.
“We’ve been preparing for this Olympiad for three years. Sanzhar is a very disciplined student with strong internal motivation. The Mendeleev Olympiad is a major event in the world of chemistry, and we took the preparation very seriously,” said Nazerke Bilimkhan, a chemistry teacher at the Bilim-Innovation Lyceum.
Winning a prize at the Olympiad will be a strong advantage for Sanzhar when applying to universities, including those abroad. The high school student shared that he plans to pursue a career in physics and programming.
The Kazakhstani team won a total of 11 medals at the Olympiad — 7 silver and 4 bronze — leaving behind strong teams from the U.S., Japan, China, and various European countries. Mendigali Kaldybay, a student from Mangistau region, received a special prize for the Best Score in the Practical Exam, awarded for achieving the best result in the practical round of the Olympiad.
The Olympiad took place from May 5 till 13. The host country arranged tours and an entertainment program for the guests.
As reported earlier, Kazakh school students secured eight medals at the Asian Physics Olympiad in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.