Students from Pakistan pose for photographs with students from India and Sri Lanka.

ISLAMABAD, Aug 5: Pakistani students won one silver and four bronze medals along with two honourable mentions in various events at the International Science Olympiads 2012, held in Singapore, United States, Argentina and Estonia.

Four to six-member teams from each country were selected out of more than 6,000 students, requiring a minimum of 70 per cent or higher in their SSC or O-level exams to participate in the contest.

These Pakistani students were facilitated under the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Careers Programme (STEM), a joint venture between the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) to groom students for future careers in STEM.

The 23rd International Biology Olympiad (IBO) was hosted by Singapore from July 8 to July 15.

Around 236 students from 59 countries participated in the event. Of the three Pakistani participants, two won bronze medals and one received an honourable mention.

The medalists include Usama Tahir from Lahore Grammar School (LGS) Lahore, Hafsa Shahab from LGS Islamabad and Hassan Mirza (honourable mention) from LGS Lahore. The IBO team was led by Dr Zahid Mukhtar.

The 43rd International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) was hosted by Estonia from July 15 to July 24. A total of 400 students from 88 countries participated. Out of the five Pakistani participants, one received a bronze medal.

The winner was Muhammad Taimoor Iftikhar from Rangers Public School and College, Mandi Bahauddin. The IPhO team was led by Dr Shahid Qamar and Dr Aftab Rafiq of PIEAS, Islamabad.

The 44th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) was hosted by the United States, from July 21 to 30th.

About 270 students from 70 countries took part in the event. One Pakistani student, Armughan Ahmad Khan from LGS Lahore, received a bronze medal.

The IChO team was led by Prof Dr Khalid M. Khan and Dr Muhammad Raza Shah of the Husein Ebrahim Jamal Research Institute (HEJ), Karachi.

The 53rd International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) was hosted by Argentina from July 8 to 16th. About 600 students from 100 countries took part.

Waqar Ali Syed of Beacon House School Karachi won a silver medal while Huma Sibghat from Hamza Army Public School and College Rawalpindi won an honourable mention. The IMO team was led by Prof Dr Barbu Berceanu and Dr Ahmed Mahmood Qureshi from Government College University Lahore.

It is worth mentioning here that the students selected and groomed under the programme have also been successful in securing admissions and scholarships for higher education at some of the world’s best universities including Stanford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Caltech, McGill, University of Toronto and the University of Oxford.