Joining the IBO community

Every year the IBO welcomes new candidate countries or regions to join our global competition. As a first step, enthusiastic people from schools, universities, governments and other institutes join together to organize national biology competitions. They encourage students to challenge themselves and learn about biology. The winners of those competitions can compete in the IBO. If your country or region does not participate in the IBO yet, we encourage you to think about joining (see below). We are always available to help!

Membership of the IBO Association is required in order to participate in the competition. New members are approved during the IBO's Annual General Meeting that takes place during the IBO week in July. If you are setting up a national competition, we warmly invite you to contact us to join the event as an observer (without students), so that you can learn about the IBO and how to best prepare your students. Once accepted by our members, you can bring a team of four students in the next year.

Outline of required steps

  1. Contact the IBO Office informally to let us know you have a national competition (or are in the process of establishing it) and would like to join the IBO in the future.
  2. Familiarize yourself with our Articles of Association & Operational Guidelines to understand the requirements for membership and participation. In particular see §4 and 5 of our Articles of Association for membership requirements, and §3.3, 3.4 and 3.5 from our Operational Guidelines for participation duties and rights.
  3. Be aware that participation will not be free and that you will need solid financial support to operate your national competition and be able to participate internationally. The IBO Association charges an annual membership fee of €300, and each competition requires a participation fee of approximately $2000 (for a team of 4 students + 2 adults). Also consider the costs for travel and insurance.
  4. To be accepted as member, you will need to provide two documents. The IBO Office will provide you with templates and instructions.
    1. An official support letter from your Ministry of Education (or equivalent institute), underlining the authenticity of your national competition and endorsing the international representation of your country in the competition.
    2. A description of your national competition, detailing your organizational structure, student selection process, specific training, etc. The IBO Steering Committee will verify that your competition is in line with the IBO standards and complies with the rules of the competition. If not, they will make suggestions for change.
  5. The host of the next competition will invite you to join the IBO week in July as an Observer (see Operational Guidelines §3.3.2). Typically, one or two representatives of your national competition will travel to the IBO to learn about our procedures, meet delegation leaders from other countries and think about how to best prepare your students. You will be invited to inspect the student exams, observe the jury sessions and join all ceremonies and social events.
  6. During the Annual General Meeting of the IBO Association, held near the end of the IBO week, you will be given the opportunity to announce your candidacy for membership. The current members of the association will then vote to accept you as pending member.
  7. If accepted, your next step is to complete all remaining membership requirements. In addition to providing the documents mentioned before, you will have to:
    1. Sign the official membership form.
    2. Fill out the IBO membership website (some public information about your competition, and some private contact information for the IBO Office and treasury).
    3. Pay the annual membership fee (invoiced around January-February).
  8. If all requirements are met, you will become a full member of the IBO Association and you will be invited to join the upcoming competitions with a team of students. Congratulations!