Students vie for Olympic laurels in science

The first International Junior Science Olympiad kicked off in Jakarta on Monday, bringing together 180 young talents from 30 countries across the world in a battle of wits (photo left).

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asked the students in his opening remarks to use their intelligence and knowledge for the good of the people and to build friendship with other participants.

"Remember what Spiderman said in that movie: 'With great power, comes great responsibility'. Well, whether you are a Spiderman, or a president, or a science student, that is very true: with great power, with great knowledge, comes great responsibility," the President said at the State Palace.

The competition itself will start on Tuesday, when participants will take questions from the panel of jurors.

Forty six national teams had registered for the competition, which is being held in Indonesia for the first time, but for various reasons only 30 teams attended.

A committee member said that 10 national teams canceled their participation due to the absence of Garuda Indonesia flights plying the route from their countries to Jakarta, while the rest withdrew for fear of terror attacks following a bomb blast outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta on Sept. 9.

Each team comprises between six and 12 students. Indonesia is represented by 12 third-year junior high school students who have been selected and undergone a one-month training course in Jakarta.

Minister of National Education Bambang Sudibyo said the country had bid to host the event in order to prepare Indonesian students for global competition.

Last week, Indonesia, hosted an international mathematics and science competition for elementary school students, which saw the home team win most medals on offer. -- JP