KAZAKHSTAN TEAM IS READY FOR IESO

The preparation of the Kazakh team of schoolchildren for the International Earth Science Olympiad in (IESO) 2018 is being completed. The competition will be held in August in Thailand.

Kazakhstan at the Olympiad will be represented by Almaty student Aknazar Kazhymurat and Astana citizens – Islam Aituganov, Kamila Kazhen and Assylbek Umurzak. The children are winners of the national competition carried out by the Shakhmardan Yessenov Foundtion and Zhas Geolog foundation. Preparation for the Olympiad with the guys began right after the selection process wrapped up. Pupils were engaged in a class and visited the leading universities in Almaty and Astana, met with teachers. During the classes, the children analyzed the tasks of previous IESO competitions and made presentations in English. Director of the Institute of Geology and Oil and Gas – Alma Bekbolatova, Candidate of geological and mineralogical sciences – Aigul Baidauletova, General Manager of the School of Mining and GeoSciences in Nazarbayev University – Dariga Tukaeva and associate Professor of the same school – Laurent Richard participated in the preparation of the Kazakh team.

— It was an incredible experience to share a few classes with the students. Their attitude and striving towards learning fundamental concepts of mineralogy, petrology, geodynamics, stratigraphy, or paleontology was really impressive. I am confident that they will perform at the highest level at the IESO competition and, more importantly, that they will pursue their quest and become a prominent scientists in the future, — Prof. Richard thinks.

Assylbek from Almaty attended all the classes held in Astana, online, he also worked independently with teachers located in Almaty. Geologists of JSC “Kazgeology” provided samples of minerals and rocks as well as great assistance in the training of children. At the end of July in the resort area of Burabay lake, V Kazakhstan open field Olympiad for young geologists will take place; all four Olympians will take part in it in order to consolidate knowledge they already learned.

— I am sure that the guys will adequately withstand all the tests and practical exams at the Olympiad. In addition, we are the only non-English speaking team there coping without interpreters. Our teams at the previous Olympiads were admired for the level of language proficiency. Our plans are to bring home medals, show excellent knowledge and surprise the guests of the Olympiad with a colorful dance, song and video about our country at the traditional evening of friendship, — said Zhannat Ismailova, Director of “Zhas Geologist”.

The 12th International Earth Science Olympiad will be held from August 8 to 17 on the campus of the Mahidol University in Kanchanaburi province. It is located about 123 km from Bangkok. The province is dominated by triassic and cadastral landscapes, that is ideal for geological activities. Teams from more than 30 countries have already applied to participate in IESO 2018. The panel of judges will include leading professors of geological universities of the world. The questions of the Olympiad tests are repeatedly checked for correctness and are kept in the strictest secrecy.