SWABI, July 25: A week-long training camp of the 10th National Physics Talent Contest (NPTC) sponsored by Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) careers project of the Higher Education Commission, began at the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology on Monday. Forty students from various schools and colleges selected by a rigorous screening procedure from a nationwide competition, were participating in the training camp. The top five winners would be sent to the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO).

Training coordinator Dr Ibrahim Qazi said the 37th IPhO would be held in Singapore from July 8 to 17 next year. Dr Qazi is being assisted by former NPTC/IPhO alumni, of them three will join MIT, Stanford University and Harvard University, and one is already studying in Oxford University.

He said the competition was for those students who have not yet entered university. Competitors were judged for their conceptual and logical approach in solving theoretical and experimental problems. Their efforts get acknowledged by gold, silver and bronze medals or an honourable mention.

First held in Warsaw, Poland, in 1967, IPhO is one of the prestigious scientific competitions participated by talented students from all around the globe, he said. So far, he said, five teams for IPhO from 2001 (Turkey) 2002 (Indonesia) 2003 (Taiwan), 2004 (South Korea) and 2005 (Spain) were prepared who had brought home three bronze medals and various honourable mentions.

GIK Institute Rector Dr Abdullah Sadiq, who is also chief coordinator of the NPTC programme, has been involved in grooming the youngsters along with faculty members of the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences, GIK Institute, Quaid-i-Azam University and alumni of the IPhO.

ALUMNI’S VISIT: Thirty-five alumni of the National Science Talent Contest (NSTC), including 12 girls, of the IPhO and other science contests visited the institute and they discussed in detail with the NPTC chief coordinator that how the capability of the participating students could be improved and how the desired objectives could be achieved in the contest.