Experience at the International Science Olympiad in Mexico

Written by Gianni De Sousa

Edited by Isabella Castro

At the start of this year, I was asked to join a Science Olympiad for International Schools in Mexico by a friend, Bella (Isabella Castro) who invited me to a team of four students. While the others studied and excelled across chemistry, biology, and physics, the only background I had was centred on physics. Despite being quite uncertain about how I would contribute to a competition around subjects I had not studied, I accepted. My goal was clear from the beginning though: I wanted our team to succeed and win.

The first round of the competition focused on biology and began in November 2025. We completed the multiple-choice and structured theory examinations on the 27th of November, as a group, much to my relief.  We were then informed that a scientific project, coming up with a tool for medical use, had to be completed and submitted to the judges the following day. A project of this scale would normally require one to two weeks of preparation and execution ; we were given less than twenty-four hours to complete it. 

Throughout the following day, my teammates and I developed the concept of creating a medical tool designed to assist in the diagnosis of mitochondrial disease by assessing the person's Krebs cycle. The idea was that we could measure the levels of citrate, a substance produced at one of the stages of the cycle, in an individual's blood by measuring the pH after reacting it with citrate positive bacteria, which would produce alkaline compounds. We could then evaluate when the cycle was not working correctly, by how much citrate was produced, and therefore when there was an issue in the mitochondria. While our idea would have a variety of practical issues if anyone attempted to execute it, it forced us to be creative, and for three of us who didn't take biology, exposed us to entirely new concepts, and that was the point.

This discovery enlightened me and gave me the motivation to dedicate a great deal of myself to this project. Due to my confidence in public speaking, I took responsibility for introducing our concept to the judges, explaining our motivation, and presenting the overall theme of the project. Meanwhile, my teammates focused on explaining much of the technical science and calculations behind our idea and the data of costs/prices, but I was proud to understand this side of it as well.

On the 17th of December 2025, the results were announced, and our team achieved first place in this round. I had never been more proud of myself and my team, not only because of the result, but because of the effort and collaboration that had gone into creating our project. From someone who never even glanced once at biology, the ideas, the research, and the output I had given were way past my comfort zone.

The second round was chemistry. Again, I  found myself lacking the necessary knowledge. While I was unable to contribute to answering the exam section I supported my teammates and helped the group remain focused as much as I could.

After completing the olympiad’s first two rounds and winning in each of them, we felt prepared for the final stage. Unfortunately, the physics round which was the subject I specialized in and took in IB - was cancelled across Mexico due to concerns around examination stress. Although I was disappointed that we did not have the opportunity to compete in physics, I remained proud of everything our team had already accomplished, as overall winners.

Ultimately, the Science Olympiad taught me one thing: success is not determined only by individual knowledge. Our team succeeded because each person contributed different strengths: scientific knowledge, creativity, communication, and leadership.  This experience taught me to be more confident in the things I do know rather than what I lack.If you are interested in joining a Science Olympiad, it is an opportunity that will not disappoint you. The experience and teamwork gained from it cannot be replicated anywhere else. As stress, clashing ideas and unexpected challenges come your way, that is when you learn to trust your teammates, utilize your skills and adapt to accomplish great findings.