EGYPT'S Brain Bee

Press release for Egypt’s participation in the 21st International Brain Bee competition held between 19th -23rd September 2019 in Daegu, South Korea.

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Youssef Ibrahim, a high school student attending ElNasr Boys’ School in Alexandria, participated in the International Brain Bee World Championship, competing with a record number of 28 participating countries this year. The competition was held in Asia for the first time, hosted by the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) World Congress, Korean Brain Research Institute and under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and ICT of South Korea.

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The International Brain Bee competition has been held since 1999 and is currently supported by the world's largest five organizations dedicated to brain research and education. A representative from each country is invited to compete every year. The Egyptian competition was established in 2016 and since then Egypt has participated internationally on an annual basis. The Egyptian Brain Bee is organized by Alexandria Neuroscience Committee, a branch of the NGO Child Neurology Caring Society in Alexandria, and in collaboration with Pediatrics Neurology, Psychiatry and Neurology departments of Alexandria University Faculty of Medicine.

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Youssef ranked the 13th after a challenging competition that included written, patient diagnosis, neuroanatomy, neurohistology sections and a live judging session administered by a panel of world-class neuroscientists. Students from China, Poland and Iran achieved the first, second and third ranks respectively. Youssef has also scored the top grade in the neuroanatomy exam. Youssef’s rank this year is the highest yet for Egypt, reflecting the improving level of the national competition since its establishment three years ago.

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To qualify for participating internationally, Youssef achieved the top rank out of 300 students to the Egyptian competition this year, applying from high schools from most Egyptian governates. Youssef then spent three months preparing for the competition in parallel with his high school studies. His preparation involved visits and academic supervision by several faculty members and departments at the Alexandria University Faculty of Medicine. Moataz Assem, founder of the Egyptian Brain Bee and a PhD student at the MRC Cognition and Brain Science Unit at the University of Cambridge, accompanied Youssef during the international competition in South Korea to provide motivational and mentorship support.

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The competition aims to encourage students to pursue their academic interests as well as to raise awareness for the role of neuroscience research to improve the mental health of our community and treating neuropsychiatric disorders. Alexandria Neuroscience Committee-ANC aims to hold the fifth Egyptian Brain Bee on a broader scale next year that will include more students from all over Egypt.

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Official IBB-IBRO press release: https://bit.ly/2njAECV