The International Biology Olympiad (IBO) is a biological olympiad for pre-university students under the age 20, and is one of the most well-known International Science Olympiads. The first IBO was held in Czechoslovakia in 1990, and it has since been held annually. The competition have gradually expanded to include more than 75 participating countries across five continents. All participating countries send the four winners of their National Biology Olympiad to the IBO, usually accompanied by two adults who are members of the international jury, for the duration of the competition.
To select these top four life science contestants for this international competition, all member countries host Biology Olympiad competitions in typically 3-5 consecutively more difficult national competition rounds. As a consequence, this leads to a trickle-down effect, engaging more than 1 million students worldwide in life science each year.[1]
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the IBO (host: Japan) was organized virtually[2] and was rated "a great success" and "highly successful" in the history of IBO[3] because of its exceptional way of operation and the unique international group-based scientific project International Group Project 2020.
In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Portuguese IBO host to go virtual once again: the 2021 IBO was replaced by the IBO Challenge II, from July 18 to July 23.
- ^ "IBO is an association of national biology competitions from countries and regions". International Biology Olympiad. Archived from the original on 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
- ^ "Regarding COVID-19". IBO2020 Nagasaki. 2020-03-06. Archived from the original on 2020-03-26. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
- ^ "THE VIRTUAL IBO CHALLENGE 2020 WAS A GREAT SUCCESS". International Biology Olympiad. Retrieved 2021-01-26.