Indonesia searching for its 'Einsteins'

Indonesia searching for its 'Einsteins'

Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The hope of finding future Indonesian Einsteins is the driving
force behind the country's bid hosting of the first International
Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO), which is now underway.

"Indonesia (as a country) is said to be weak in science.
Therefore, we want to find young talents in that field. Who
knows, in 20 years time they might win the Nobel prize (in
science)," an organizing committee member, Riwanda Sihombing,
told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

The Olympiad, which will run through Dec. 14, takes "Einstein,
100 years" as its theme to commemorate the contribution of Albert
Einstein to science.

There are 181 students from 30 countries, including Indonesia,
who are aged between 12 and 15 years old participating in the
event.

The international competition will also serve as a testing
ground for Indonesian students to measure their prowess against
students from abroad.

There are 12 Indonesian representatives, who were selected
from Jakarta, Papua, Central Java, South Sulawesi, Lampung and
South Sulawesi. They all had won selection competitions at the
provincial level.

As the host, Indonesia has the privilege of fielding two
teams. Other countries are allowed to send one team made up of a
maximum of six students.

Riwanda said the tests were prepared by a joint team of
lecturers from the University of Indonesia (UI), the Bandung
Institute of Technology and Airlangga University, and academics
from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).

"The tests were assessed by another team consisting of
lecturers from Padjadjaran University and LIPI. A day before each
test, we meet with the foreign delegations to see whether the
materials are acceptable," he said.

The tests are presented in multiple choice, essay and
experiment format covering physics, chemistry and biology.

To prevent leakage of the test materials to the participants,
"we isolate the students and keep them away from all kinds of
communication."

"Participants stay in different hotels from their team
leaders, with no phones, pagers, or internet facilities," said
Riwanda, who is also a lecturer at the School of Mathematics and
Science in UI.

During the closing ceremony on Dec. 13, the best students will
be awarded with trophies and medals.

"Trophies will be given for Best Theory, Best Experiment and
Absolute categories," said IJSO coordinator Hidayat Muchtar.

He said either the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare,
Alwi Shihab, or Minister of National Education Bambang Sudibyo
would close the event at the Fantasy World amusement park in
North Jakarta.