FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Lao students win silver medal in international science contest

Lao students win silver medal in international science contest

EIGHT students from Eastern Star Schools in Vientiane are delighted to have won silver medals after competing in the recent annual Genius Olympiad event in the USA.

The eight secondary school contestants included two in Year 6 –Phouvady Chatthachack and Thipphachanh Oudomvilay; four in Year 5 –Phonexay Phongvisith, Vannaxay Khattignarath, Patiphanh Sitthivong and Perfect Khithsavath; one in Year 3 –Nadir Yilmaz, and one in Year 1 –Phouthasin Phonechaleun. All of them said they were very happy and proud of their success.
The students were led by teachers Sevki Oksuz, Nazar Amanov and Huseyin Yilmaz.
The Genius Olympiad 2018 was hosted by the State University of New York in Oswego from June 11-16. 
The Lao students competed in Lego in one of the sub-categories of the Genius Robotics Category and won a silver medal.
The contest is an international high school project competition based around environmental issues. Genuis Olympiad promotes a global understanding of environmental issues and the achievement of sustainability through basic science, arts, creative writing, engineering, design, and business development.
The award-winning students returned to Laos at the end of latmonth and were given a warm welcome and congratulated upon their arrival at Wattay International Airport by the school’s administration board, their classmates and parents, and reporters, who were eagerly waiting to interview |them.
 All of the students and teachers said they were very pleased that Laos had participated in the event and were proud of what the young competitors had achieved.

Raising profile of country 
Their success not only put their own names in the spotlight but also that of their school and country, by raising the profile of Laos and its people on the world stage and making their talents known.
A Year 5 student, Perfect Khithsavath, said he, his partners and leading teacher were very happy and proud of their achievement and considered it to be an important prize for themselves and for Laos.
“The winning title and prizes are very important and meaningful for us and our country because it can promote our country and its students worldwide. We are really happy and proud about it,” he said.
“It wasn’t easy because we had to compete with so many teams of students from around the world. However, we practised hard, prepared ourselves well under the supervision of our teachers and tried our best in the competition. Fortunately we won a silver medal.”
A Year 6 student, Miss Thipphachanh Oudomvilay, said she was very glad to be one of the students representating Laos on an international stage.
“We were very happy to take part in this event. This programme was very interesting and beneficial for all participants. We learned many things about robotics, science, and environmental protection. We also gained new experiences by travelling abroad and meeting people from many countries,” she said.
 “We would like to thank our teachers for all their help, and also the organising committee and hosting country for giving us the chance to compete and facilitating and supporting us during the trip. If we can, we would certainly like to take part in the competition again.”
The contest provides challenges and opportunities for secondary school students, to instill in them the skills and knowledge needed to be the citizens, leaders, scientists, artists, writers, engineers, and policy makers of the future who will promote and contribute to greater environmental sustainability throughout their lives.
It focuses on all aspects of global environmental issues. A “genius” has affection for all humanity, wisdom in all circumstances, a deep sense of responsibility for society and the world, and dedication to deeply held values, acting accordingly with passion.
The Genius Robotics category is a student-centred competition which gives students an understanding of the role of engineering and research in environmental issues.
Genius Robotics encourages students to discover novel solutions to known problems in the environment by requiring them to design, build, test and control their own robots.
 It gives students a lifetime experience and an opportunity to enhance their life skills such as being a team member, researching, and problem-solving.
Genius Robotics has three categories - Lego, Tetrix and VEX.
This year, there were more than 1,000 students from 68 countries including Laos participating in the competitions.
This wasn’t the first time Eastern Star Schools has entered its students in the event and last year they won a bronze medal.
This time around they improved on their efforts and won silver, which was seen as a big gift to Laos and its people. 
They have been deservedly congratulated by the school administration board, their classmates and people around the country. From now on, the school is planning to prepare its students for competing in next year’s event with a hope to gain a bigger success.
 

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