12/11/2019
Singapore Brain Bee Challenge 2019 Award Ceremony
11th November 2019
Hwa Chong Student tops the Brain Bee Challenge
The International Brain Bee (IBB) challenge is a non-profit neuroscience competition designed to teach school students (age group of 14-19 years) about the brain and inspire them to pursue careers in biomedical research. Currently, there are 175 Brain Bee coordinators worldwide and the Singapore Neuroscience Association (SNA) is privileged to be the host of the Singapore Brain Bee Challenge. Assoc Prof S.T. Dheen (Head of Department of Anatomy, NUS), the President of SNA, is the National coordinator for Singapore and Dr. Aparna Karthikeyan (Research Fellow, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine) was appointed as the Organizing Chairperson for the year 2019.
The Singapore Brain Bee Challenge is highly anticipated by school students as it provides a unique platform for young students, enthusiastic about neuroscience, to test their knowledge and showcase their talent and interest in neuroscience. This year, nearly 174 students from 12 schools in Singapore participated in the Challenge. The participating schools were Anglo Chinese School Independent, Anglo Chinese Junior College, Catholic High School, CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School, Dulwich College Singapore, Hwa Chong Institution, Hwa Chong Junior College, Nanyang Girls High School, National Junior College, NUS High School of Math and Science, Raffles Institution, Raffles Institution Junior College, River Valley High School and Victoria Junior College.
Prior to the Challenge, the SNA organized an Orientation day to introduce the students to important concepts in neuroscience. Following the Orientation Program, there were 2 rounds in the Challenge, a written first round consisting of MCQs and short answer questions held on 31st May 2019 and a second Oral Round on 10th June 2019, wherein the shortlisted students were examined by a panel of neuroscientists including Prof Ong Wei Yi, A/Prof S. Thameem Dheen and A/Prof Samuel Tay. Given the tough competition and high standards of the Singaporean students, a rigorous selection procedure was uniformly applied to finally select the top 3 winners. The National Champion was awarded a cash prize of $500 and a travel award up to $2000 to attend the International Brain Bee Challenge which was held in Daegu, South Korea from 19th to 21st September 2019.
The Award Ceremony for the Singapore Brain Bee Challenge was held on 11th November 2019 at 3p.m. in LT37 MD1 Tahir Foundation Building in NUS. Professor Chong Yap Seng, Dean of the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine graced the event as the Guest of Honour. The National Champion was announced to be Mr. Yau Chun En, Hwa Chong Institution. The 1st Runner Up was announced to be Mr. Tian Shuhao, Hwa Chong Institution and Mr. Yee Qin Sheng, Anglo Chinese Junior College was announced to be the 2nd runner Up of the Singapore Brain Bee Challenge 2019.
This event was sponsored by the NUS Anatomy Department (NUS Medicine), Lee Foundation, and Singapore Neuroscience Association.
