The fourth Biochemistry Olympiad 2012 was held 22ndDecember in Curzon Hall. It was a grand success, thanks to the organizational capability of the staff members of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, DU, spearheaded by its Chairman, Prof. Dr. Haseena Khan. The Chief guest on the concluding session was Prof. Dr. AA Arefin Siddique, the Vice Chancellor, Dhaka University and the Special guests on the occasion were Prof. Dr. M. Imdadul Hoque, Dean of the Faculty of Biological Science, DU. and Mr. Syed Mahbubur Rahman, Managing Director & CEO BRAC Bank. The Olympiad, which made its debut in 2009 created a good deal of enthusiasm among both ‘O’ and ‘A’ level students as well as SSC and HSC students; and as many as 795students from all over Bangladesh took part in the competition. One new feature this year was the poster session. The program also included a visit to different Biochemistry labs in the campus. Biochemistry Olympiad has been a great success in as much as it generated a good deal of enthusiasm among the young generation regarding its importance as a discipline in science and the role Biochemistry and Molecular Biology towards building a better Bangladesh.
The annual event included an hour-long quiz competition on biochemistry and molecular biology, video presentation, view exchange meeting and scientific sessions. A little over 955 students from Bengali- and English medium schools and colleges from across the country took part in the day-long programmes in two categories. In SSC/O level category, Sunnydale School became the champion, while Oxford International School became runner-up. In HSC/A level category, Bangladesh International School & College and Sunnydale School became champion and runner-up respectively. Later, Prof. A A M S Arefin Siddique, Vice-Chancellor, university of Dhaka attended the closing ceremony as the chief guest and distributed prizes to the winners. Syed Mahbubur Rahman, Managing Director & CEO, BRAC Bank Limited and Professor Dr. M Imdadul Hoque, Dean, Faculty of Biological Sciences, DU, were present as special guests on the closing occasion.[Summarized by Samsad Razzaque, a BMB graduate student at Dhaka University,]