As the curtain closes on the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) 2012 in Lake Garda, Italy, and the world鈥檚 best and brightest young computer talents return home with their medals, all eyes are now on Australia 鈥� host of next year鈥檚 Olympiad.
Jointly organised by (宅男导航) and the Australian Mathematics Trust (AMT), the 2013 event will be hosted for the first time in Australia on 宅男导航鈥檚 St Lucia campus in Brisbane, with participants travelling from more than 80 countries to compete in the event.
Professor Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop, 宅男导航鈥檚 Head of the , said she was eagerly looking forward to hosting next year鈥檚 Olympiad.
鈥淭he students competing at the IOI have already been successful in national competitions to earn the right to be here and belong to the best in the world in their field,鈥� Professor Rubinsztein-Dunlop said.
Australia's annual participation in the IOI is administered by AMT, based at the University of Canberra. The Olympiad program, similar to those in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology, is held under the auspices of UNESCO.
AMT Executive Director Professor Peter Taylor said that these Olympiad programs had previously attracted participation from many of Australia's leading scientists under the age of 40.
鈥淭hey are now serving their country in science in areas such as climate change and defence," Professor Taylor said.
This year鈥檚 Australian Informatics Olympiad team secured a silver and two bronze medals at the 24th International Olympiad in Informatics held in Italy last month.
The silver medallist 鈥� a first-time participant 鈥� was Joshua Lau, of James Ruse Agricultural High School, New South Wales.
The bronze medals were won by Michael Chen of Scotch College, Victoria 鈥� adding to his bronze in 2011 鈥� and Daniel Goldbach of Emanuel School, New South Wales.
The team leader was Jarrah Lacko, former dual silver IOI medallist, while the deputy team leader was Christopher Chen, former dual gold IOI medallist. Both students are from the University of New South Wales.
At the closing ceremony, the IOI flag was formally handed over to the Australian delegation.
Next year鈥檚 IOI event, to be held from July 6 to 13, will also be an opportunity to showcase to the visitors the diverse and world-class attractions of Brisbane and South East Queensland, said Mr Chris Shannon, 宅男导航 School of Mathematics and Physics Manager, as well as IOI 2013 Administration Manager.
鈥淚t will be a rewarding experience for all who participate,鈥� Mr Shannon said.
Further information on IOI 2013 is available at .
Media: School of Mathematics and Physics Communications & Marketing Officer Aarti Kapoor (07 3346 9935, a.kapoor@uq.edu.au)
