Science High School kids score in Bangkok contest

TWO fourth-year students at the Philippine Science High School, Lawrence Medina and Paulo Manzanilla, have received a grant to initiate an environmental project and will attend celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol in Canada next month.

“I was very surprised to be the winner because most of the questions were unexpected, even though we did prepare ourselves very well,” said Manzanilla, who will share the $1,500 grant with his schoolmate.

He said the competition had provided him with knowledge about the ozone layer and its importance in protecting the environment.

The pair will disseminate this information to their school and society to raise more awareness about environmental problems, particularly air pollution in Manila.

A team from Sri Lanka was second in the competition, with Thailand and Malaysia taking the third and fourth places.

Apinut Wongkietkachorn and Ajaree Sattaratnamai, of Triam Udomsuksa School, represented Thailand.

Apinut said it was a good chance for Thai students to share knowledge with students from other countries. “I did not feel that other students were rivals because we were aiming to help each other,” he said.

The Regional Ozone Quiz Competition was organized by Unep in cooperation with Bangkok’s Ruamrudee International School, where the semifinals and finals were held.

Most questions tested scientific and historical knowledge of the Montreal Protocol.

Thanavat Junchaya, regional network coordinator for Unep, said the competition aimed to make students more aware about environmental problems in this region and around the world.

Earlier, Filipino students won 11 gold medals in the 3rd International Mathematics Invitational Competitions held over the weekend in Singapore.

Meanwhile, the European Commission announced yesterday that 16 Filipino students had been selected to receive a study grant to Europe under the Erasmus Mundus scholarships award for the academic year 2007-2008.

The 59 Filipino grade school pupils also won 12 silvers and 21 bronzes in various events, where they competed with over 400 outstanding math students from China, India and Singapore.

The 16 students are among the 1,825 students worldwide who were selected for Erasmus Mundus Masters courses for the upcoming academic year.

Among them were Jary Aspiras, Misal Racines, Lourdes Patricia Ramirez, Grace Sanico and Tuesday Quiller.

Ambassador Alistair MacDonald, head of delegation of the European Commission in Manila, hosted a reception for returning and departing Erasmus Mundus students yesterday.

MacDonald said that the Erasmus Mundus program offered a splendid opportunity for Filipinos to pursue high-level studies in the European Union.

The EU has allocated a budget of 190 million euros a year for the Erasmus Mundus program. Ninety percent of the money funds scholarships.

The ambassador noted that a total of 63 Filipinos had so far benefited from scholarships under the Erasmus Mundus program, beginning with the academic year 2004-05.

“Like their predecessors,” he said, “these 16 new awardees will be able to earn their Masters degrees in Europe, and be ambassadors of goodwill between the Philippines and the European Union.” –The Nation/Bangkok and Michael Caber