Fantastic to see one of our alumni, Executive Committee member and recent team leader for the 2024 IBO in Kazakhstan, Mr Liam Hewson, profiled in the ODT. Liam is a key figure in our summer tutorial programme, supporting students to learn advanced biology content at a distance and through the practical laboratories on the April training camp. NZIBO excitedly awaits the commencement of the next tutorial programme, with registrations closing Sunday 11th August – encourage your tauira to enter this excellent extension programme!
“Learning a 1300-page biology textbook cover-to-cover for a prestigious international exam he never managed to sit has finally paid off for a Dunedin man.
University of Otago master’s student Liam Hewson made it to this year’s International Biology Olympiad in Kazakhstan after eight years of being involved in New Zealand’s programme.
However, he went to the Olympiad as a tutor, not as a student.
The Olympiad is a series of exams used to rank the top secondary biology students from around the world.
About 80 countries send four students each to sit six theory examinations and receive medals based on their rank.
Mr Hewson helped train four students from across New Zealand including Anika Hayes, of Waitaki Girls’ High School, who placed 88th in the world.
After attempting the programme twice when he was in year 12 and 13 at King’s High School, Mr Hewson joined the New Zealand International Biology Olympiad executive committee in 2020 and began helping with its tutorial programme.
He said the programme was based on content from a massive textbook called Campbell Biology.
He once knew the book so well he could say what any given page was about without opening it.
He said spending two summers learning the book had not gone to waste as he could now inspire the next generation of scientists with his own journey.
It had also set him up nicely for university.
“One of the first year papers is based of half of that textbook, it was trivial to take.
“It gave me the foundations for how to work well in a university environment and it’s inspired me to do my master’s [degree].”
Article by Mark John, originally published in the ODT https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/campus/textbook-study-pays-biology-tutor