TÜBİTAK President Prof. Hasan MANDAL met with the students and their parents, who filled Turkey with pride by winning 3 Silver and 1 Bronze medals in the International Biology Olympiad held online this year.
The 2020 International Biology Olympiad, originally planned to be held in Japan this year, was held online for the first time due to COVID-19, on 11-12 August 2020 with the participation of 208 students from 52 countries.
At the International Biology Olympiad, Turkish contestants Anıl Deniz YILMAZ, Gencay Kaan POLAT and Yiğit Can ATEŞ won silver medals, and Ali Berdan TÜNEY won a Bronze medal.
Olympic Committee Chairman Prof. Leyla AÇIK and the ranking student Yiğit Can ATEŞ participated in the medal-giving ceremony online since they are quarantined.
Pandemic stimulated the need for basic sciences
Prof . MANDAL talked with the students and their parents, and asked about their future and career plans. Prof. MANDAL stated that it is a good news for the future of Turkey that two of the medal-winning students starting university education this year chose molecular biology and genetics department.
Emphasizing the importance of qualified knowledge creation and the source of the knowledge -basic science research- in achieving the strategic goals of Turkey in the fields of science, technology and especially high technology, he expressed that the need for basic sciences increased especially in the pandemic period in many fields, mainly in vaccine-development studies, and it became evident that more investment is needed in qualified manpower creation in this field.
In this context, Prof. MANDAL told students that “Molecular Biology and Genetics” major was also added to the 2205 Undergraduate Scholarship Program conducted by TÜBİTAK this year for the first time.
The meeting ended with medal-giving to the students by TÜBİTAK President Prof. Hasan MANDAL.
02.08.2021
Science Olympiads