19th Apex Astro-Olympiad qualifying round held at BAU

Rayhan Abid, BAU Correspondent: To promote interest in space and astronomy, the 19th APEXAstro-Olympiad, organized by the Bangladesh Astronomical Association,successfully conducted its qualifying round in the Mymensingh Division. Sixtyindividuals passed from four districts within the Mymensingh Division.

The competition occurred at the Shilpacharya ZainulAbedin Auditorium, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), on Sunday, July 7th,at 10 am.

The program started with the national anthem and flaghoisting. After that, a 100-mark test on Astronomy was taken. Then competitorsmade paper rockets. Around 110 students from Sherpur, Netrakona, Jamalpur, andMymensingh in Junior (14 to 15 years, school level) and Senior (16 to 18,College level) categories participated in the competition. At the end of thecompetition, 20 students from the senior category and 40 from the juniorcategory were selected and awarded.

Chairman of Bangladesh Astronomical Association, MoshrulAmin, Professor Kazi Shek Farid, Rural Sociology Department of BAU, and centralorganizer Tanzila Ritu were present at the prize distribution ceremonyconducted by Jaber Islam, president of ' Biggan Charcha Kendra' of BAU Branch.

Moshrul Amin stated that the main objective of theAstro-Olympiad is to spark interest in space among the young generation acrossthe country. The International Astronomy Olympiad will take place in Bangladeshthis year, with students from around 40 to 50 countries participating.

The national round is scheduled to take place in Dhaka onAugust 3 with the participation of students who have successfully passed thequalifying round. The residential camp and final selection phase will beconducted from August 21 to August 28, with a total of 30 participants,comprising 15 from the senior group and 15 from the junior group, in thenational phase. Following the residential camp, five contestants will be chosento represent Bangladesh in the upcoming 28th International Astro-Olympiad.