By Kang Shin-who
Staff reporter
Lee Kil-jae, the chairman of the organizing committee of the IBO 2010, said participants can experience both basic and advanced biology studies in Korea.
"Students can learn about the harmony of basic and cutting-edge biology at this coming event. We have scheduled to take them to natural places where they can learn about ecology, and they will also visit places with advanced technology," Lee told The Korea Times in an interview to celebrate hosting the 21st IBO in Korea.
"I believe these programs will help Korea better its brand image with all participating countries," he added.
The Korea Society of Biology Education (KSBE) applied to host the event during a coordinator meeting at 17th IBO, held in Argentina in July 2006 and got an approval.
After that, the KSBE formed an organizing committee for the Olympiad 2010 in February 2008 and Lee has been in charge of the committee since March of that year.
Through an open competition, the committee chose Changwon National University as the venue ― it also visited India in 2008 and Japan in 2009 as an effort to better design the event.
The international biology event is set to help talented young students in biology to expand their talents and promote scientific careers.
"Students will compete with each other intellectually here, but all of them are representatives of their countries and are already very talented. So, I hope we can promote biology studies to them and motivate them to be biologists in the future," Lee said.
"Above all, I hope all of the 240 students can become closer and better understand each other. So, if they learn how to collaborate and build partnerships through this event, I can say that the event has been successful," he added.
The 21st IBO invited middle and high students and juries along with operational staff from 60 countries around the world.
"We hope this event helps our country to upgrade its status in biology studies and science and also make more Koreans interested in this field," he said. "I believe we need to take more care with biology education at secondary schools and give more support for the development of the field."
Lastly, he encouraged all participants to do their best for a fair competition and to build friendship with students from other countries. "I hope invited students and juries will enjoy Korean culture and history during this event," he said.
Graduating from Seoul National University in biology education, Lee studied botany for his masters degree and the gained a Ph.D. in molecular biology from Florida State University. He started to teach at Korea National University of Education in 1988 and served as a chairman of the Korea Society of Biology Education between 2005 and 2007.