International Physics Olympiad 2026 & Australia

 

The students representing Bangladesh at the 56th International Physics Olympiad 2026, held in Colombia, achieved outstanding results. Fahim Farbin of Notre Dame College won a silver medal. Nafis Sadik of Rangpur Cantonment College and Aditya Rahman of St Joseph International School won bronze medals, while Samiul Islam of Mymensingh Zilla School received an honourable mention.

Heartfelt congratulations to all of them.

It goes without saying that achievements of this kind in an international competition demonstrate an exceptional level of talent and ability. This year, every contestant from China, India, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea and Taiwan won a gold medal, placing these six countries at the top of the international rankings.

The accepted mathematical definition of achievement is output divided by input. In other words, achievement is measured by the amount of output produced from a given amount of input. The input, in turn, depends entirely on the resources and opportunities available. A little reflection on our overall educational environment is enough to reveal the extent of our capabilities and the limited opportunities our students receive compared with students in other countries.

Australia may be mentioned in this context. Through a nationwide competitive selection process, Australia nominated five students to represent the country at this year’s Physics Olympiad: Aditya Chauhan of Sydney Technical High School, Luke Hackett of Marist College Canberra, Evan Liao of James Ruse Agricultural High School in Sydney, Michael Tikanov of John Monash Science School, and Owen Zhai of Brisbane State High School. However, Australia ultimately did not send any of them to the Olympiad.

Australian Physics Olympiad Team 2026

Australian Science Innovations, the organisation responsible for managing the Science Olympiad programs, did not provide any satisfactory explanation as to why Australia did not participate in this year’s Physics Olympiad in Colombia. I initially thought that the Australian Government might have imposed travel restrictions on Colombia. However, the Smartraveller website does not prohibit travel to Colombia.

Why, then, were the five most talented young physicists selected from across Australia not allowed to attend? There is no answer. Apart from a small number of members of the physics community, hardly anyone in Australia appears to have shown the slightest concern about the matter. Is Australia short of money? The Olympiad program is sponsored by the Australian Government’s Department of Industry, Science and Resources.

When comparative inputs and outputs are taken into account, I believe Bangladesh’s achievement is far greater. Thousands of Bangladeshi students make their way to examination halls through muddy floodwaters to sit their examinations. In Australia, by contrast, many students are admitted to engineering programs at the country’s leading universities without having studied any physics at school.