The Philippines, represented by the Philippine Science High School-West Visayas, won the best team award in the inaugural ASEAN+3 Junior Science Odyssey (APTJSO) competition held at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) from 10-17 June 2012.

The theme for the first APT Junior Science Odyssey 2012 is “Science and the Dynamics of Tropical Rainforest.”

The aims of the APT Junior Science Odyssey are:

• To encourage and challenge gifted science students to excel in the field of science and technology.

• To stimulate students’ intellectual curiosity through various experiences and experiments.

• To provide the students with the opportunity to foster friendship and networking in the APT region.

• To motivate the students to pursue careers in science and technology.

The Philippines was represented by 2 teams from the Philippine Science High School System:

• The Philippine Science High School- Western Visayas composed of Teacher Flordeliza T. Remonde and students Magin Benedict Ferrer, Ina Mae Sison and Vicah Adrienne Villanueva; and

• The Philippine Science High School – Central Luzon composed of Teacher Arnold Pitpitunge and students Gabrielle Sophia Louise Seva, Mikhael Edrich Eubanas, and Angel Gabriel Pindea.

The Philippine contingent was led by Executive Director Josette T. Biyo.

The winners in the different categories are as follows:

For the Chemistry/Physics Laboratory Skills Assessment

Gold – Philippine Science High School-West Visayas

Silver – The Philippine Science High School – Central Luzon

For Biology Field Work

Gold- Ina Mae Sison

Silver – Gabrielle Sophia Louise Seva

Bronze – Angel Gabriel Pineda

Over 70 students ages 13 to 15 from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, People’s Republic of China, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, participated in various scientific experiments, fieldworks, and assessments conducted at the UBD ‘s Faculty of Science and Bukit Sawat Forest Reserve.

Ambassador Nestor Z. Ochoa hailed the achievements of the young Filipino students from the Philippine Science High School System, “as they have made the country proud by their notable achievements in this international competition.”

The event was organized by the Special Education Unit (SEU) of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Development, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), ASEAN+3 Centre for the Gifted in Science (ACGS), Korea with support from ASEAN Committee on Science and Technology (ASEAN COST), and ASEAN Secretariat. END