Argentina

Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto

www.unrc.edu.ar

It is sponsored and financed by the National Ministry of Education together with other National Olympics that make up the Olympics Program. It is based in the Department of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Exact, Physical-Chemical and Natural Sciences of the National University of Río Cuarto.

It is a competition between regular students from secondary level educational establishments throughout the country. It is made up of an Executive Organizing Committee, an Academic Committee and an Academic Support Committee for International Olympics.

Approximately 5.000 students

There are three instances of participation in two levels: Collegiate Contest, Intercollegiate Contest and National Contest.

- College: For both levels the exam includes multiple choice questions and short answers.

- Intercollegiate: The theoretical exams consist of multiple choice questions and short answers. For Level II it is also considered a practical exam.

- National: Theoretical exams consist of multiple choice questions and short answers. For both levels a practical exam is considered

The collegiate and intercollegiate examinations will be carried out in the field of secondary schools in different localities, regions and / or provinces of the country.

For the Intercollegiate Contest, the theoretical exams for both levels are prepared by the respective Academic Committees and are given by the teams of each level independently. Since 2007, a practical exam was incorporated into level II, with the aim of promoting the development of skills for the interpretation of instructions and the handling of laboratory and biological material that allows solving simple problem situations. In this way, all students who participate in the intercollegiate are able to solve a practical experience. The intention of this proposal is to continue providing ideas and materials to schools, stimulating teachers to work on solving specific biological problems to address the curricular content of Biological Sciences.

The exams are made taking into account the contents that appear on the website (www.oab.org.ar). The distinction between Level I and II will be given by the specificity of the contents included in them, by the percentage assigned to each area of ​​knowledge and by the bibliography proposed to address them.

Students, once they are selected among the winners of the National Contest, are provided study and exercise materials so that they can study during the summer (approximately 3 months). Once the school year begins, students attend the National University of Río Cuarto one week a month, for 5 months, where they are trained, mainly in practical skills, by different professors with experience in certain areas of Biology. On the other hand, students allocate extra study time at home, and make permanent consultations via email with professors.

On the website (www.oab.org.ar) the current theoretical and practical contents are available with the proposed bibliography and exercise booklets, which are a compilation of problematic exam situations.

All participants of the intercollegiate and national instances receive certificates of participation. In the national instance, seven special mentions are recognized with medals and the first places with bronze, silver and gold medals to the teams that obtained the best scores in the exam. Numerous books are also given away in order to contribute to improving the availability of updated bibliography in the libraries of the participating schools.

It is a competition between regular students from secondary level educational establishments throughout the country divided into two levels of participation, Level I and Level II, according to the following criteria:

- Educational Institutions that are 6/7 years old in total (Basic Cycle and Oriented Cycle), participate as follows: - Level I: 1st, 2nd and 3rd year - Level II: 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th year.

- Educational Institutions that have 5 years in total (Basic Cycle and Oriented Cycle), participate in the following way: - Level I: 1st and 2nd year - Level II: 3rd, 4th and 5th year.

   The school year goes from March to December

3 hours

25 hours

In the Secretariat of the Argentine Biology Olympiad, consultations via email and / or telephone. Every year a poster with the logo and the information of dates is made, and published in the different social networks and sent via mail

Secretariant of the Argentine Biology Olympiad

• 2020: 4000 students from 200 schools (0% of eligible schools)

In a normal year, on average 7,000 students participate in the collegiate contest in approximately 500 schools in 22 or 23 Argentine jurisdictions. In the participant intercollegiate instance of 4,000 students and 600 teachers, which make up the 800 participating teams. Around 300 students and 100 teachers continued their participation, making up the 100 teams that access the national instance.

On the website of the Faculty of Exact, Physical-Chemical and Natural Sciences of the National University of Río Cuarto, and on the radio of the University, the different instances of the Olympiad, their development, schedule, and winners are communicated. Also in different newspapers or local radios and of the province they are informed about this competition.