Zwei unserer Schülerinnen aus der Q1, Tanya und Manya Chandra, haben erfolgreich bei der DNO in Bonn teilgenommen. Manya nimmt Ende April am Nationalwettbewerb in Frankfurt teil. Herzlichen Glückwunsch! Über Ihre Erfahrungen schreiben die Schülerinnen hier - genau wie der Wettbwerb auf Englisch:
On 9th of March 2024, we attended the neuroscience olympiad called DNO
(deutscheneurowissenschaftolympiade) at Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of
Behaviour, Bonn. It is an annual competition, in which students from all over Germany
participate to enhance their knowledge on neuroscience. They initially learn from a handout
consisting of approximately 300 pages. The competition includes a written test, patient
diagnosis, neuroanatomy and a podium round if the students perform exceptionally in the
first 3 tests. At the start, the students take part in the regionals (Bonn, Berlin, Heidelberg)
and the top 15 from each region participate in the national competition, which is held in Max
Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behaviour, Frankfurt. The winner of the national
competition represents Germany at the International Brain Bee competition 2024.
Our experience at the Bonn regionals was very fun! We first took a written test, followed by a
neuroanatomy test. In these tests, we visited different stations, looked at brain structures
and identified them. In our break, we were able to engage with the organising team of
neuroscientists and learn about how the brain works. We gained more insights into their
PHD research projects as well as interacted with many participating students, sharing the
same interests as us. Afterwards, students watched videos of patients and diagnosed their
neurological disorders as part of the third test. It was really exciting to see parents also
taking part in the patient diagnosis, despite having little knowledge on it. Both of us were
selected in TOP 15 students and were allowed to take part in the final podium round. The
podium rounds were facilitated by 3 well-known neuroscientists. Each student had to
answer questions from the judges and slowly moved forward if their answers were correct.
Through this process, three winners were announced, with Manya securing 3rd place in the
Bonn regionals and receiving a prize from the judges.
The whole day was extremely informative and interesting. It was particularly fun to interact
with other students, and get to know them better. Although learning for this competition was
challenging amidst exams and projects, it was very interesting! We are looking forward to the
nationals.