On the evening of December 22, at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training held the closing ceremony and awarded prizes for the International Olympiad of Metropolises (IOM).

This is the second year that the Hanoi Department of Education and Training has been authorized by the People's Committee of Hanoi to organize the selection and establishment of a team representing Hanoi City to participate in the competition.

This is the second year that Hanoi has a group of students participating in the International Olympiad of Metropolises

The team consists of 8 outstanding and excellent students from grades 11 and 12, specializing in Math, Physics, Chemistry, and Informatics from Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted.

In 2020, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the exam was held online with the participation of 32 metropolises. The closing ceremony and award ceremony were also carried out online by the Organizing Committee. 

The closing ceremony and award ceremony were done online by the Organizing Committee

With the greatest determination, all 8 students of the team got awarded medals. 5 Gold Medals belonged to the candidates: Nguyen Hoang Nam and Tran Quang Vinh (Physics); Nguyen Duy Anh, Nguyen Le Thao Anh (Chemistry) and Do Bach Khoa (Mathematics). The Silver Medal went to candidate Nguyen Duc Anh (Mathematics). Two Bronze Medals in Informatics belonged to candidates Nguyen Gia Bao and Nguyen Anh Quan. Notably, Nguyen Duy Anh, a student of Class 12 - Chemistry 1, achieved the highest score in the whole competition. Vietnam National Team ranked 2nd out of 32 participating teams.

With the greatest determination, all the students in the team got awarded medals

The International Olympiad of Metropolises is an international team competition, held annually in Moscow. Participating students are aged between 14 and 18 years old, living in the world's biggest metropolises.

Each participating team must demonstrate knowledge of Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Informatics. The competition consists of a Blitz-contest and two main rounds.

In the Blitz-contest, each team needs to solve 80 tasks in 2 hours. The two main rounds of the competition demand great expertise. Depending on the subject, the chemistry and physics sections have theoretical and experimental tests, while the math and informatics sections include problem solving.

 The level of the tests is equal to that of the largest International Olympiads. Each round lasts from 4 to 6 hours without breaks.

Ms. Tran Thuy Duong, Headmaster of Hanoi High School for the Gifted - Amsterdam, said, implementing the careful and specific direction of Hanoi Department of Education and Training, Hanoi High School for the Gifted - Amsterdam has been proactively and motivatedly overcoming difficulties, preparing facilities for the Exam to meet the strict international requirements on the practice of Physics and Chemistry, camera system, exam monitoring software, and laboratory tools ...

 “The School Board of Directors is very proud of the competitive spirit of the students, the spirit of overcoming difficulties, the solidarity of the entire staff of Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted. The efforts of everyone have brought success in this contest, and I hope there will be even more successes in the near future”, Ms. Tran Thuy Duong affirmed.

Winning the Gold Medal in Chemistry, Nguyen Le Thao Anh, a 12th grade student in Chemistry 1, Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, said that this is the first online international competition she participated in,  so she could not help but feel lost sometimes. Thao added that the practical section in the competition was very difficult; the students were only familiar with the exam structure and were limited to the practical section in a very short period of time.

“Being able to take the exam in my country has many psychological advantages, but this has made me put pressure on myself to do well in order not to disappoint the Board of Directors, teachers, parents and friends”, shared Nguyen Le Thao Anh.

The International Olympiad of Metropolises is an important annual event, organized by Moscow's city government on an international scale. The exam for students aged 14 to 18 from major cities around the world was first held in 2016, with the participation of 22 teams representing cities from 18 countries.  By 2019, the IOM International Olympiad has expanded the competition teams with representatives from 45 cities belonging to 32 countries around the world, such as Moscow, St.  Petersburg, Berlin, Dresden, Frankfurt, Boston, New York, Beijing, Shanghai, Budapest, Helsinki, Jakarta, Madrid ...

 In 2020, due to the influence of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Organizing Committee decided to organize it in the form of combining multiple locations with the support of telecommunications technology.  Taking the exam, each city needs to prepare test scores in its own city to ensure full equipment of video surveillance equipment, stable internet connection, printing and scanning devices for candidates. The test scores must comply with the regulations on hygiene, epidemiology and disease prevention and control measures according to regulations.

                       Compiled from various sources

Translator: Le Minh Ha - English 1922