Taiwan extends Earth Science Olympiad win streak

2014-09-30

Taiwan won the International Earth Science Olympiad team championship Sept. 28 in Spain, topping the world for the eighth consecutive year, according to the Ministry of Education.

Huang Shih-huan of National Tainan First Senior High School, along with Chen Yi-kai and Cheng Ken of Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School, won gold medals and ranked top three among all competitors. Li Shu-chen of National Tainan took silver.

“This year the IESO examined students on the emerging science of earth system, as well as the four established subjects of astronomy, geology, meteorology and oceanography,” said Liu Teh-ching, a professor at National Taiwan Normal University and leader of the Taiwan team.

Founded in 2007 by the International Geoscience Education Organization, IESO is dedicated to expanding earth science learning and enhancing public awareness of the field. The competition for secondary school students consists of theoretical and practical examinations, with the former presented as a set of earth science problems and the latter experimental tasks.

This year the event, held Sept. 22-29 in Santander, Spain, involved 82 students from 26 countries. Taiwan has accumulated 24 gold and eight silver medals to date.

The gold and silver winners will be awarded NT$200,000 (US$6,587) and NT$100,000, respectively, and admitted to relevant university departments without examination, the MOE said.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=222210&CtNode=413)