Wang Jingli

wangjingli0715@163.com

HIGH school students from 26 countries including Russia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, and China have gathered in Shenzhen for the 58th International Mendeleev Chemistry Olympiad for School Students.

The opening ceremony of the Olympiad was held yesterday at Shenzhen MSU-BIT University (SMBU) in Longgang District. The Olympiad will run through Friday.

The Olympiad includes three rounds of tests including two theoretical tests and one practical test.

Alexander Gladilin, chair of the jury, said that the tests are designed to encourage students to be creative — they are not about difficulty, but about creative ideas.

During his speech at the opening ceremony, Li Hezhang, rector of SMBU, expressed hope that students from different countries can learn from each other, achieve progress together, and promote the development and innovation of chemistry education.

Li also hopes that the Olympiad can serve as an important opportunity for SMBU to promote exchanges with schools from other countries so that they can jointly cultivate talented students with international vision.

The Mendeleev Olympiad has become an international flagship project of the Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) and the Andrey Melnichenko Foundation aimed at supporting and developing talented young people.

Myagmarnaran Munkhbold, from Mongolia’s Orchlon International School, represented his country in the Olympiad.

“It is always interesting to solve problems, and I like problems,” said Munkhobold, who is also visiting the city for the first time.

“Shenzhen and the SMBU campus are beautiful. There is also a cultural program arranged for us to experience Chinese calligraphy, so it’s very culturally diverse,” said Munkhbold.

The 58th International Mendeleev Chemistry Olympiad for School Students was jointly organized by SMBU, MSU, and the Andrey Melnichenko Foundation.