Our participation at the IOAA 2007

IOAA Web Site

International OAA Competitions:

The purpose of IOAA is to popularize Astronomy and Astrophysics, and to attract bright high school students all over the world to Science and especially towards Astronomy and Astrophysics.  The Institute of Physics Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Department of Physics, University of Colombo and Ministry of Education has  made arrangements to hold national competitions, related to international events annually.

Those who sat for the 1st National Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad competition held in 2007 won 10 national awards (2 Gold medals, 3 Silver medals and 5 Bronze medals). The awards were presented by the National Science Foundation at a ceremony held in the BMICH. Further more, five students excelled at the  National Competition represented Sri Lanka at the 1st International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics held in Thailand from Nov 30 – Dec 9, 2007. Three honorable mentions were won by the Sri Lankan students in this event.

The 2nd  National Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad competition was held on March 29, 2008. Results of this competition will be published on the web soon. The 2nd IOAA will be held in Bandung, Indonesia from August 19-28, 2008.

Participation at IOAA Competitions:

Those who wish to participate in future IOAA competitions must inform the Institute of Physics once advertised (generally in January of each year) and register themselves by sending the application form together with the prescribed examination fee. Application forms can be downloaded from the link given above. The examination will be held island-wide in 4 centers at the Universities of Colombo, Peradeniya, Ruhuna, and Jaffna.

Those who do well in the national competition will be given medals and certificates. Maximum of five students will be selected to participate at the IOAA. Those selected students will be trained extensively before the departure. To participate in the International Olympiad, the age of the contestants must not exceed twenty (20) years on August 1st. There is no age limit to participate in national competitions.