Bengaluru girl to represent India at International Biology Olympiad
What's the story
A Bengaluru-based girl has been selected to represent India at the famed International Biology Olympiad 2018. Kunjal Parmani is among the four Indian students who will participate in the 29th edition of the competition to be held in Tehran, Iran. The other three, Shaswat Jain, Stuti Khandwala and Vishwesh M Bharadiya, are from Rajasthan. The competition will be held from July 15 to 22.
Details
One has to crack all five qualifying tests of Olympiad
Parmani, a student of National Public School on Bannerghatta Road, nailed all the five qualifying tests of the National Biology Olympiad. Organized by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, generally about 20,000 students take the National Olympiad, out of which only four are chosen. "I went till the oriental-cum-selection camp round (last qualifier) in 2017 too, but cleared it this time," said Parmani.
Information
A bit about International Biology Olympiad
The International Biology Olympiad (IBO) is for students under the age of 20. The first IBO was held in Czechoslovakia in 1990, where only 6 countries participated. Since then, it's been an annual event. In 2008, Mumbai hosted the IBO, where 55 countries took part.
Ambition
She wants to remain in core biology and become scientist
Apart from preparing for the Olympiad, Parmani also appeared for NEET this year, requisite exam for getting admission to medical courses. However, she wants to remain in core biology and become a scientist or a researcher. She has marked two premier institutes for higher studies: IISc, Bengaluru and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune. Significantly, this isn't the first laurel for Parmani.
She says
The teen prefers books over 'idiot fox' TV
She had also topped the 11th National Science Olympiad conducted by Delhi-based Science Olympiad Foundation among Grade 3 students. Parmani, who has started reading when she was just 26 months, prefers encyclopedia and science books over TV, smart-phones or laptops. She calls television an 'idiot fox', as it preys on children and eats up their time, leaving them with less scope to be productive.