The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity "Mawhiba" and the Ministry of Education, made a Saudi and Arab achievement by winning 4 international awards at the European Physics Olympiad 2021 in its fifth edition, which was held in Estonia - remotely - from June 19 to 24 with the participation of 230 students, representing 46 countries. This achievement was made in the third consecutive Saudi participation in the Olympiad.
The Kingdom’s Physics Team won a silver medal and three bronze medals. Al-Qasim Al-Sangali, from Makkah Al-Mukarramah education department, won the silver medal, while the bronze medals were granted to: Ahmed Al Muhanna, from Eastern area education department, Hassan Al Layl, from Eastern area education department, and Sadiq Al-Abbad fromRiyadh education department.
The Kingdom, represented by Mawhiba Foundation and the Ministry of Education, increased its number of awards won by the Saudi team participating in the European Physics Olympiad to 10 awards, including gold and bronze medals and certificates of merit.
The country was represented in the Olympiad by a team of 5 students who took the test over two days, an average of 5 hours per day; The first day is theoretical, and it includes 3 problems to be solved with deep ideas and creative solutions, and the second day is practical “labs”.
The Saudi team participating in the Physics Olympiad underwent several periodic tests by Saudi and international experts. The team was trained on higher thinking skills, by dealing with unfamiliar physics experiments, designed specifically for local and international competitions, and through tools specifically designed for high-level thinking questions, which contain ideas and puzzles that challenge students and prepare them to compete for Olympiad prizes.
This achievement is a result of the concerted efforts between “Mawhiba” and its partners; the Ministry of Education and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Such efforts lead to win awards, achieve the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, rank the Kingdom at a higher position, and make it among the top 20 countries in the world in terms of education and preparation.
The European Physics Olympiad is a competition for high school students, and its first session was launched in 2017 in Estonia, and its second session was held in 2018 in Russia. Latvia hosted its third edition, and the concept of «EuPhO» depends on real research situations, with short problem descriptions and plenty of space for creative solutions for the participating students.
This participation is a part of Mawhiba International Olympiad program, which is held in a strategic and integrated partnership with the Ministry of Education, which makes the students available to attend the training camps throughout the year. This program is also one of 20 different initiatives of advanced curricula and enrichment programs, in the fields of science, engineering and health, provided by Mawhiba for gifted students annually on a journey through which the gifted students pass through several stages, to explore and enhance their tendencies, and empower and invest in them with its local and international partners.
