Viktoriia Vydzhak wins The International Brain Bee (IBB) Competition 2021

16-year-old Viktoriia Vydzhak from Kyiv, Ukraine is the IBB World Champion 2021. Moreover, she also won another prize, the inaugural IBB Neuroanatomy/Histology Award, as the competitor with the top scores in both the neuroanatomy and neurohistology components of this year’s competition. Ostap Shyika, a sophomore at Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University, was one of the 2020 finalists, another remarkable achievement for the Ukrainian Brain Bee chapter!

The IBB is the world’s premier neuroscience competition for teenagers, and each competitor had previously won their national or regional Brain Bee to qualify for the World Championship. A total of 43 students representing 31 nations and regions from six continents were invited to gather virtually from November 5-8, 2021, for an exciting competition and educational social program.

The challenging competition was conducted in two parts. All competitors completed four separate tests (written exam, neuroanatomy, neurohistology, and patient diagnosis) under pre-arranged supervision within a 24-hour timeframe at the beginning of the World Championship. Based on their total combined scores, 24 finalists participated in the second part of the competition, a live question-and-answer round with four prominent neuroscientist judges.

The IBB was incorporated in 2018 as non-profit educational organization with the support of five international neuroscience and educational organizations. The organizations also form the IBB’s governing body with a sixth Governing Partner that joined in 2021: Alzheimer’s Association, American Psychological Association (APA), the Dana Foundation, the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS), the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO), and the Society for Neuroscience (SfN).

Ukrainian Brain Bee (UBB) has started in 2012 as a part of the National Biological Olympiad held by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. In 2016 it became a standalone event. It is organized in two stages. The preliminary test is organized online and every student can freely participate. Usually, this is the weekend of Brain Awareness Week. Best students are then invited to the final competition to the leading Ukrainian institution in neuroscience – Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology (National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine). The winner represents Ukraine in the International competition.

REGISTRATION FOR THE UKRAINIAN BRAIN BEE 2022 IS OPEN

  • REGISTRATION DEADLINE – March 14, 2022
  • TEST – March 20, 2022