Saudi Arabia, represented by the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity "Mawhiba" and the Ministry of Education, won two global awards at the 2024 Mendeleev Chemistry Olympiad, held in its 58th edition in the People's Republic of China from April 20 to 27. With this achievement, the Kingdom raised its tally of awards in the Mendeleev Chemistry Olympiad to 23, including three silver and 20 bronze medals, with participation from 151 students from 27 countries.
The Kingdom was represented in this edition of the Olympiad by a team of six students from various educational departments. Student Hassan Abduljalil Al-Khalifa from the Eastern Province educational administration, who received 1978 training hours, won a bronze medal, as did student Ali Salah Al-Mousa, also from the Eastern Province educational administration, who received the same amount of training hours.
"Mawhiba" indicated that the members of the Saudi chemistry team were nominated after participating in several meetings over two years, with selection and nominations taking place for subsequent gatherings. They then undergo intensive training once a year, where the members of the Saudi chemistry team trained through "Mawhiba," in partnership with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology "KAUST," under the guidance of international experts. Students are selected based on their performance during the training period to participate in international competitions.
It is noteworthy that this achievement by the Kingdom's students is part of a complete journey and an integrated system within Mawhiba called "the journey of the gifted student," which includes various initiatives such as Gifted Classes, summer enrichment programs, academic and research programs, as well as apprenticeship and innovation programs and enrollment in prestigious global universities, offered after school and during the summer.
The Mendeleev Chemistry Olympiad is considered the most challenging chemistry competition in the world, characterized by the high level of questions and the format of the competition, with Russian as the primary language of the competition. It has been held for more than 55 years, featuring the strongest countries in the field of chemistry, named after the Russian scientist Dmitri Mendeleev, who presented the first version of the periodic table of elements.
