site.btaBulgarian Students Win Four Medals at International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics in India

Bulgarian students won four medals at the 18th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA), which took place in Mumbai, India from August 11 to 21, the press centre of the Ministry of Education and Science said on Friday. The team got three gold and one silver medals, as well as an honorary certificate. This is Bulgaria's best performance in the competition to date, according to Ministry’s announcement.

More than 280 students from 63 countries participated in this year's Olympiad.

Svetoslav Arabov, a 9th grade student at the Mathematics High School in Varna, Elena Yordanova, an 11th grader from the Mathematics High School in Ruse and Peter Popov, an 11th grade student at the Natural Sciences and Mathematics High School in Gotse Delchev, won the gold medals.

Lora Lukmanova, a 12th grader from the Sofia High School of Mathematics won the silver medal. Atanas Mitrev, an 11th grade student from the Foreign Language High School in Kardzhali received an honorary diploma.

Nikola Karavasilev and Stefan Ivanov, from the Union of Astronomers in Bulgaria, led the Bulgarian team at the Olympiad.

The IOAA is an annual competition in astronomy and astrophysics for secondary school students. Its main goal is to encourage increasing interest in astronomy and related STEM subjects, primarily through general education for young people, and to foster the development of international connections among different countries to promote astronomy and astrophysics in schools, the organizers of the event explained on their website.