Qatargas and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education have signed a partnership agreement, whereby Qatargas becomes the Gold Sponsor of the 16th International Junior Science Olympiad 2019, to be held in Qatar from 3 to 12 December.
The event will be held under the theme 'Motivating Today's Young Generation for the Skills of Tomorrow' with the participation of students from some 71 countries.
The sponsorship contract was signed by Ali Ibrahim Al-Sulaiti, Public Relations Manager, Qatargas, and Hassan Abdullah Al-Mohamedi, Director of Public Relations and Communications at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and Chairman of the Olympiad's Public Relations Committee.
Hassan Al-Mohamedi hailed the partnership between the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and Qatargas, the World's Premier LNG Company, noting that it will surely give a strong impetus and contribute to the success of the International Junior Science Olympiad 2019 hosted in Qatar for the first time.
“We hope that this partnership will remain and broaden its scope so that Qatargas remain an active partner in more scientific and educational initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in future," he said.
Commenting on Qatargas' support for the Olympiad, Ali Al-Sulaiti said: “We are delighted to support the Ministry of Education and Higher Education as it provides yet another platform for us to participate in developing our young people and preparing them for the future. Such initiatives are in line with our strategy to support our community with particular focus on education and are aligned with the Qatar National Vision 2030."
The International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO) is one of the largest international science competitions for school students from all over the world. The competition was held for the first time in 2004 in Indonesia. The age of students should not exceed 15 years at the time of the competition.
The State of Qatar participated in the competition for the first time in 2016 with a team of observers (academic supervisors). Qatar won the bronze medal in the Netherlands in 2017, and another bronze in Botswana in 2018. The Olympiad aims to stimulate students' interest in natural sciences to pave their career journeys as scientists, as well as promoting future scientific cooperation, and forming friendships within the scientific community. The IJSO also provides an opportunity to compare curricula and educational trends in science education of the participating countries.