Jakarta, Indonesia Herald - The Indonesian National Team travelled to Vassouras, Brazil, to participate in the 17th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA). This event is one of the prestigious international competitions in astronomy which began in 2007 and is held annually.
"Of course, the students along with the coaching team have prepared as much as possible. I am sure you can present the best achievements and make Indonesia proud at the IOAA event," said the Head of the National Achievement Centre (Kapuspresnas), Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek), Maria Veronica Irene Herdjiono, in a written statement received by Infopublik, Sunday (18/8/2024).
The students have received three stages of coaching facilitated by Puspresnas before leaving for IOAA 2024. "Through this coaching, we hope that you can return home with pride for Indonesia," he added.
So far, Indonesia has won various medals and awards individually and as a team. Indonesia hosted the 2nd IOAA in 2008 in Bandung and the 9th IOAA in 2015 in Magelang. IOAA participants are high school students or equivalent who have undergone multilevel selection, namely from the National Science Olympiad (OSN) at the Regency / City Level, Provincial Level, and National.
Then, the OSN winners are called to follow three stages of selection and coaching in order to form the Indonesian National Team. The selection and coaching activities of the Indonesian National Team are organised by the National Achievement Centre (Puspresnas), Ministry of Education and Culture, together with the Indonesian Astronomy Olympiad Coaching Team (TPOA).
Based on the results of the assessment of participants from the IOAA 2024 Phase II Coaching held on 13-22 May 2024 in Bandung, Puspresnas and TPOA have determined five participants who will represent the Indonesian National Team for IOAA 2024.
The five participants are Ahmad Fiandra Zain (Class XII, SMA Pribadi, West Java), Nathan Gabriel Winoto (Class XII SMA Kristen 5 BPK Penabur, Jakarta), Navaro Nayottama (SMAS Global Prestasi, West Java), Novin Raushan (Class XI, SMA Kesatuan Bangsa, DI Yogyakarta), and Yoseph Juvintius (Class XII, SMAS Darma Yudha, Riau).
The five participants had previously attended Phase III (Pre-departure training) on 7-16 August 2024 in Bandung. The training involved Lecturers and Assistants of Astronomy Study Programme FMIPA ITB, Bosscha Observatory FMIPA ITB, Imah Noong, and UPI Psychologist Team.
Furthermore, the National Team will depart for Brazil on 16 August to participate in the 17th IOAA 2024 event which will take place on 17-27 August in Vassouras, Brazil. Acting as Team Leaders of the Indonesian IOAA National Team are Dr Hakim L. Malasan and Dr Anton Timur Jaelani from the Astronomy Research Group, FMIPA, Institut Teknologi Bandung.
For information, the 17th IOAA will be attended by 54 participating countries, with each country sending 3-5 students. The rounds that will be competed include: Individual rounds (Theory, Data Analysis and Observation), International Team Competition, and Poster Competition. The Indonesian National Team has prepared a poster about the floating solar power plant in Cirata as a producer of solar energy. We hope that the Indonesian National Team for IOAA can follow all activities well in good health and achieve the highest achievements.
IOAA aims to promote the growing interest in astronomy and related sciences, particularly through education for the younger generation, and enhance the development of international relations in promoting astronomy and astrophysics in schools. Indonesia is one of the founding countries and has consistently participated in the IOAA. (InfoPublik.id)