NSTC Physics exam for Pakistan Olympiad team, a theoretical physics competition where each country sends 5 person (high school )team.
Big morning for Nazar Khan. NSTC Physics exam for Pakistan Olympiad team. It’s a theoretical physics competition where each country sends 5 person(high school )team. Nazar (and I ) spent 100 or so early mornings before school and office to prepare for this exam. This morning it’s stage1 where top 50 in Pakistan are selected(and are invited to a 1 week camp in Islamabad and 40 of the 50 weeded out). MA he’s already part of Pakistan National Physics “WorldCup team”(which is experimental and simulation physics).
What is STEM Careers Programme and NSTC ?
STEM Careers Program, a joint venture of Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Pakistan Institute of Engineering & Applied Sciences (PIEAS) to inspire the potential youth of the nation to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Besides, STEM teams also represent Pakistan in International Science Olympiads (ISOs) in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics organized across the world, exhibiting the natural talent of the country in these competitions through NSTC. National Science Talent Contest is an extension of the National Physics Talent Contest (NPTC) launched in 1995.
The first ever International participation of Pakistan Team was in the 32nd International Physics Olympiads that was held in Anatalya, Turkey in 2001. The performance of the Pakistani Students was quite encouraging in that Olympiad as one of its team member won an honorable mention and also got the best performance award for the first time participating country.
Later in 2003, the subsequent encouraging performance of Pakistan teams led us to extend this Programme to Biology, Mathematics, and Chemistry with the generous support of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and since then, Pakistani Teams are regularly participating in these annual International Science Olympiads across the world and won altogether 109 medals including Silver(04), Bronze(57), Honorable Mention (45), Merit Certificate (01) & Special Awards (02).
National Science Talent Contest (NSTC) strives to address the first part of the mission, and National Engineering Competition (NEC) address the second part of the mission.
NSTC
The National Science Talent Contest (NSTC) is a regular annual event since 2003. It is an extension of the National Physics Talent Contest (NPTC), which was initiated by PlEAS in 1995. It strives to vitalize science education at the intermediate level, a crucial stage for professional career choices.
NSTC, and earlier NPTC, won national and international recognition for the country by winning silver and bronze medals and honorable mentions. The participants of this Contest are selected and groomed through a rigorous process.
It has following Contests:
- National Physics Talent Contest
- National Chemistry Talent Contest
- National Mathematics Talent Contest
- National Biology Talent Contest
NSTC’s physics test or NPTC
The National Physics Talent Contest (NPTC), which was inspired by and is meant to prepare Pakistani Students for participation in the International Physics Olympiad, is a regular annual event since 1995. It is conducted in five stages.
In the first stage about 1000 educational institutions throughout the country, which offer science education at intermediate or A-level, are invited to nominate their best students who have secured 75% or more marks in physics and mathematics in their metric or O-level examination for participation in the Contest.
The second stage consists of a screening test that is held in major cities of the country on the basis of which the top 50 students are selected from among these and other students of similar academic standing, who apply against advertisements in the press.
The third stage consists of a weeklong intensive training Camp, which is held at PIEAS during the end of August where students are coached and tested in theory in the mornings and in experiments in the afternoons. In between they are shown the experimental facilities in Nilore Complex and in the evenings they meet a renowned scientist or engineer, who is invited to share research interests with them.
Each day of the Camp is named after a renowned scientist such as Alberuni, Galileo and Newton, etc, whose contributions is the focus of discussions that day. A team of 12-15 students is selected for the next phase on the basis of their performance during the camp and the experimental and theoretical exam on the last day of the Camp, the Day of Judgment.
All of the students participating in the Camp are awarded prizes in the form of a standard physics textbook, usually University Physics by H. D. Young and R. A. Freedman. These students also become Alumni of NPTC, which entitles them to receive the quarterly newsletter of the Contest.
For the fourth phase of the Contest students, who are short listed during the 1st Camp, are invited to a second one-week Camp towards the end of December. The experimental and theoretical training during this Camp is much more focused. On the basis of their performance during the camp and a more formal test on the last day of the camp 7-8 students are selected for the next stage of the Contest.
These 7-8 students are invited to PIEAS for another weeklong Camp for the fifth phase of the Contest, which is more or less identical to the previous Camp. The five-member Pakistani team for participation in the international Physics Olympiad and the winners of the Contest are selected at the end of this Camp. All of these five students are awarded merit certificates and the top five students are also awarded cash prizes worth 20,000 each . The team members are coached for another week before their departure for the Olympiad.
The article is originally published at stem