Time to Brainstorm over Brains!
By Ashana Patale, Senior Reporter for the Light House
Manipal University, Dubai hosted Brain ‘O’ Bee, the regional round of an international neuroscience quiz for school students all over the UAE on 23 May 2016. Over 200 students from various schools participated in a preliminary round of multiple choice questions of which only eight made it to the finals on stage, out of which four were from IHS!
The four lucky students from our school who were selected for the final round were Nidhi Puthran, Maswa Zainab and Mayukha Bathini from Grade 12, and Prijith Babu, all from the science stream.
Comprised of four rounds and culminating in a tricky Rapid Fire round that required the occupants of the hot-seats to prove their skills, the show had even the audience on the edges of their seats. The students, who watched on as their friends battled it out on stage, even got to be in on the action when a few questions were aimed at the audience.
Muthukumaraswami, a Grade 12 student from IHS who participated for the first time, said, “I put in a fair amount of effort but I wasn’t aiming to win, to be honest. Studying was definitely worth it…It’s kind of amazing to read about stuff like how addiction works and diseases; basically neuroscience as a whole. The experience was not what I had in mind, but very enjoyable nonetheless — especially the bus rides to and from the venue!”
Prijith Babu, a student of Grade 11 was declared the winner of the competition. Prijith has in turn gotten the opportunity to represent UAE at the International Brain Bee, the world’s largest neuroscience quiz for teenagers to be held at Copenhagen, Denmark!
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“My teachers provided me with so much emotional support, and although I didn’t choose biology as one of my subjects for these coming years, Neuroscience has always struck a chord of interest within me. The experience was a fulfilling one and I would repeat it over and over again. The only advice I can give to other students is to just go for it! What do you have to lose?” said Prijith. He was also the first runner up in the competition last year, which gave him the undeterred will power to work hard and succeed this year. “The question which sealed the deal for me was the same one I messed up last year (muscle spindle)”, the boy says with a grin.
The teachers who accompanied the students were Mrs. Rosy, an English teacher and Mrs. Preethi, a biology teacher. “It’s always so interesting to learn new subjects! Even though I teach English and not biology, I can definitely say I learnt a lot just from sitting amongst the audience. It was a learning experience for me, as I truly believe in the saying ‘It is never too late to learn’.”said Mrs. Rosy, who accompanied the students for the second time in two years.
Mrs. Preethi felt that she could explain the subject better to her students. “Now I believe I can thoroughly prepare the students for next year so that IHS students bring even more laurels and provide an example for the rest of the schools. I’m confident next year will be even better!”, she said, glancing at her handwritten notes.
Congratulations to all the winners, as well as participants, and we wish Prijith the best of luck at the International Brain o’Bee to be held later in the month of July!
About the Reporter:
Ashana Patale is a Senior Reporter for the Light House, currently studying in The Indian High School, Dubai. She derives pleasure from writing, and enjoys biking, and reading.
