The student Annika Jansen, prospective high school graduate of the WvSG, showed the best performance in NRW in the second round of the International Biology Olympiad and took fourth place overall in Germany. The Biology Olympiad consists of several rounds in which students work on their own to answer biological questions or investigate them experimentally, complete high-level written exams and carry out practical identification exercises and experiments in the laboratory. Annika Jansen is now one of the 40 participants who have qualified for the third round of the Olympiad in Kiel. In further selection processes, which are characterized by in-depth practical and theoretical biological work far above school level, the most successful participants will form the German team that will represent Germany in the international round in Astana, Kazakhstan.
At the ceremony on 29.01.2024 at the LWL-Museum für Naturkunde in Münster, the graduates of the participating schools from NRW were honored and received certificates and gifts.
At the opening of the ceremony, the director of the museum, Dr. Jan Ole Kriegs, welcomed the winners, accompanying teachers and parents. Afterwards, Dirk Schnelle, representative of the Ministry of Schools and Education, expressed his thanks for the commitment of the pupils and emphasized that PISA often puts the focus in the media on the downsides of our current education system, but that many talents can be found and promoted in NRW in particular. Dr. Manfred Schwöppe, state coordinator of the competition in NRW, agreed with these words and explained the role of schools and parents as supporters.
This was followed by an entertaining lecture by Prof. Dr. Hallmann from the Institute of Physiological Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry on the topic of the "blood-brain barrier". Prof. Dr. Hallmann and his institute are also sponsors of the Olympiad, as state academies are held here and at other biology faculties at the University of Münster to train the participants for the requirements of the third round.
The best 40 participants from the first two rounds in NRW were honored at the subsequent presentation of the certificates. Annika Jansen and three other students will now represent our federal state in the third round in Kiel, which will take place from 19.02.2024 to 23.02.2024.
General information on the Biology Olympiad and the requirements of the individual rounds can be found at: https://www.scienceolympiaden.de/ibo/