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Chemistry Olympiad at the University of Wrocław

On the Friday of 27th of January, the written part of the second stage of the 69th edition of the Chemistry Olympiad was held at the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Wrocław.

The Chemistry Olympiad is organised by the Polish Chemical Society. It is one of the most difficult single-subject Olympiads, however, every year a large group of students from Lower Silesia and the Opole Voivodeship (Regional Committee for the Chemistry Olympiad in Wrocław) wants to participate in one of the most interesting single-subject Olympiads.

This year it is the 69th edition of the Chemistry Olympiad, or 70th to be precise, since the first edition has been attributed to the number 0. The organiser in the Lower Silesian and Opole Voivodeships is the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Wrocław in cooperation with the Faculty of Chemistry of Wrocław University of Science and Technology, the Wrocław Medical University and the University of Opole. This is a multi-stage competition. During the preliminary stage of the competition participants solve provided tasks with help of all the scientific sources available to them. This is an important stage for preparation, which allows participants to get familiar with the specificity of the tasks of the Olympiad. The next stage is a 4-5 hour competition, during which participants are provided with tasks related to different branches of Chemistry. This stage is traditionally held at the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Wrocław. In previous years, up to 130 students participated in the competition. This year only, or perhaps as many as, 67 students participate. We believe that the main ‘culprit’ for the smaller number of participants is the epidemic, which has made it difficult for the students and their teachers to contact and thus prepare for the Olympiad. The second stage of the Olympiad lasts 2 days. On the first day participants solve calculation tasks, while on the second day they are asked to perform practical tasks in front of the laboratory table. The first stage is traditionally held by the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Wrocław, while the laboratory stage is held at the Wrocław University of Science and Technology. This year, 9 participants qualified for the second stage of the Olympiad. The next stage of the Olympiad is the national stage and is held in Warsaw. The best of the participants then have the opportunity to represent their country in the International Chemistry Olympiad.

Preparing for the Olympiad is quite a challenge for the participants, since they have to not only master the entire chemistry curriculum at high school level, but also supplement it with elements learned at the Chemistry studies. Success of a participant in such a difficult competition is vastly due to the efforts of teachers, but also of parents or guardians, who encourage the youth to brace through very hard and persistent work. Participating in the Chemistry Olympiad is an opportunity for students to compare their skills and knowledge with their peers. Those who reach the final stage of the competition are exempted from the Matura exam in Chemistry and have  a bigger chance to become students on a number of universities. Laureates can enrol on free studies on all of the Polish universities. Regardless of the results, the Olympiad is a beautiful adventure and great fun. Many of the well-known chemists, including those from Wrocław, began their chemistry adventure with the Chemistry Olympiad. We hope that among the current participants are our colleagues and future academics of Wrocław universities.

Author:

dr hab. Kazimierz Orzechowski, Professor at the University of Wrocław

Chairman of the Regional Committee for the Chemistry Olympiad in Wrocław

Translated by Adrian Błoniewski (student of English Studies at the University of Wrocław) as part of the translation practice.

The project “Integrated Program for the Development of the University of Wrocław 2018-2022” co-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund

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