On August 14 in the Kutaisi Opera and Ballet Theater a opening ceremony of the International Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad was held.
Rector of the Kutaisi International University Alexandre Tevzadze, President of the Olympiad Greg Stachowski, Mayor of Kutaisi Ioseb Khakhaleishvili, Director of Cartu Foundation projects Vakhtang Tsagareli, representatives of diplomatic corps and participating teams took part in the ceremony.
Minister of Education and Science Mikheil Chkhenkeli welcomed the participants of the event remotely. Mikheil Chkhenkeli spoke about the importance of the International Olympiad in Georgia, thanked the organizers of the tournament and wished the students success at the Olympiad.
“I am glad that today we are hosting about 250 students from 46 countries in this truly European, meeting international standards university where the participants of the Olympiad will have a chance to show their knowledge and abilities in a comfortable and friendly environment”, said Mikheil Chkhenkeli. (Read more: https://www.mes.gov.ge/content.php?id=13121&lang=geo)
Rector of Kutaisi International University, Alexandre Tevzadze, in his welcoming speech emphasized the importance of science and the interest of young people to astrophysics and astronomy. The Rector wished success to the participating teams who have to work quite intensively during the week. This is the first time this Olympiad has been held in Georgia, and teams from different countries are participating. “Young people will compete against each other in tasks in astronomy and astrophysics, and we are glad that Kutaisi International University is holding this event in Kutaisi,” said Alexandre Tevzadze.
According to Giorgi Khomeriki, chairman of the local organizing committee of the Olympiad, the IOAA will last one week. The tasks will be translated into the native language for representatives of different countries, and then teams will start working on different types of tasks.
The International Educational Olympiad has been held since 2007 and traditionally involves high school honors graduates.
As part of the Olympiad, 45 teams from 39 countries visited Kutaisi, and teams from 7 countries will compete online. For one week, students will work on problems of varying complexity, solve assigned problems in groups and individually, and test their knowledge of astronomy.
The winning team will be announced by the international jury on August 21 at the Kutaisi Opera and Ballet Theater.
The International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics - IOAA is held this year with the support of Kutaisi International University. The 350 guests and delegates of the IOAA will stay at the KIU campus for a week and take part in interesting activities planned in the framework of the Olympiad. Various educational programs and informational tours are also planned for participants.
This year the national team of Georgia also takes part in the 15th Olympiad. The team members successfully competed in various competitions and Olympiads last year, and in 2021 they won a gold medal in the Young Physicists Competition.
The host country of the IOAA is traditionally announced several years in advance. Because of the pandemic, the 2020 and 2021 Olympiad were held online, and the 2022 event was planned to be held in Ukraine. However, at the request of the International Executive Committee and the Organizing Committee of Ukraine, Georgia will host the Olympiad for the first time in its history.
The main goal of the IOAA is to promote the growing interest in Astronomy and related STEM subjects, especially through the general education of young people, and enhancing the development of international contacts among different countries in promoting Astronomy and Astrophysics in schools.
The organizers of the Olympiad are Kutaisi International University, Eugene Kharadze National Astrophysical Observatory of Georgia, Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, Kutaisi Municipality City Hall and Imereti State Representative Administration.
More information can be found on the Olympiad website: www.ioaa2022.ge.
