The 13th edition of the International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO) was held in Daegu, South Korea. 182 contestants from 43 countries across the world participated in the contest. The olympiad consists of two individualistic examinations, theoretical and practical. The theoretical examination includes problems on Geology, Geophysics, Meteorology, Oceanography, Terrestrial Astronomy and Environmental Sciences, while the practical examination consists of tasks which are designed to assess a participant's abilities to carry out scientific investigations. Apart from these examinations, there are two multinational team tasks, the Earth System Project (ESP) and the International Team Field Investigation (IFTI).The ESP is a team-based poster making event on the topic 'Typhoons in East Asia and Climate Change'.

The IESO is the only international olympiad that includes an ITFI. It is a special tool to encourage friendly relationships among young learners from different countries and promote international cooperation. It demands the students to devise scientific ways to solve the geographical mysteries of various places and deliver a group presentation after a geoscience tour. This year, they had to investigate dinosaur tracks and give hypothesis about paleo-environment as a part of the segment.

The slogan for IESO 2019 was 'Passion for Earth Science ... Continued'. The competition has been organised since 2007 as a special activity of the International Geoscience Education Organization (IGEO). School and college students under the age of 18 get to participate in this annual event.

This year, the team from Bangladesh was comprised of RudibaAddninaLaiba from Oxford International School, Shadad Farhan Hossain from Paramount School and College, AKM Sadman Mahmud from Notre Dame College and JannatulFerdoushfrom Changes School (Narayanganj).Sadmanand Rudaiba received bronze medals in individual theoretical examinations.Rudaiba was a proud member of the gold medalistIFTI team, while Jannatul was a part of the bronze-winning IFTI team.Yunus Ahmed Khan, Professor of Geology and Mining at Rajshahi University and Shudipto Kumar, Program Manager of Bangladesh Youth Environmental Initiative (BYEI) were the advisors of the team.

The National Earth Olympiad (NEO) organised by BYEI shortlisted the best students for IESO and this programme was sponsored by EMK Centre and Independent University, Bangladesh.

The members of the team from Bangladeshwere delighted to make new friends and learn about the different cultures around the world during the contest.