STEM Fest 2025: Bangladesh’s top young scientists shine at International Hope School

The three-day "Inter-School STEM Fest 2025," one of the biggest science competitions for students in Bangladesh, wrapped up this Saturday at the International Hope School Bangladesh in Dhaka, attracting young talents from over fifty schools across the capital.

Organized by the Hopean Math Programming and Robotics Club of International Hope School Bangladesh, the festival saw 1,600 students presenting 140 innovative science projects. 

Along with the competition, the festival featured exhibits of cutting-edge student projects designed to inspire and educate.

The festival, which kicked off on January 23, hosted competitions over the first two days, with the final day reserved for showcasing science projects, handing out awards, and enjoying cultural performances.

The event began on Friday with the Physics Olympiad at 10 a.m., where 262 students from various schools took part. 

Later that day, 50 students participated in the Programming Olympiad, while 221 students competed in the Biochemistry Olympiad.

Students from classes 3 to 12 joined these Olympiads in different categories, putting their science and problem-solving skills to the test.

On Saturday, the final day of the fest, students from classes 3 to 12 competed in the Mathematics Olympiad. 

That same day, the event culminated with the exhibition of students‍‍` science projects, followed by an award ceremony and an exciting cultural program.

The judging panel this year included Professor Dr. Abu Raihan from the Islamic University of Technology, Mir Abdul Baki Prince, Business Head of Japan Scholartech, Ahsan Habib, Head of ICT at BIT School, Hans Ankur, Head of Physics at Glenreach International School, Jamurat Parvin, a teacher from Manarat Dhaka International College, and Dr. Ishrat Jabin from NorthSouth University, among others.

The closing ceremony featured entertaining performances by school students, including group dances and songs. 

Stand-up comedian Navid Mahbub and magician Magic Rajik also performed, keeping the audience captivated throughout the event.

Innovative science projects were the highlight of the festival, with students explaining their works at various stalls. 

Among the projects were a scale model of the Padma Bridge, a model metro rail, a Tesla coil, a miniature version of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, a particle accelerator, and a microbial electricity generation plant, all displayed to visitors eager to learn.

Roksana Zarin, Principal of International Hope School Bangladesh, emphasized how much the festival has grown, saying in her welcome speech,

 "The scope of STEM Fest is increasing day by day. Not only our school, but more than 50 big schools have joined our competition this year. Students are very interested in the science festival, their science practice will take our country a long way forward."

She also added, 

"Through such competitions, students are proving their skills in science and modern technology. In the last few years, many of the participants in STEM Fest have participated in an international competition called NASA Rover Challenge in America, an international competition in Dubai, which is a great achievement for us. We are hopeful that this time too, the students participating in this competition will achieve great fame at the international level."

This year’s festival focused on four main subjects – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. 

A total of 280 students were awarded prizes for their outstanding participation in the event.

The top three students in each category were awarded five thousand, three thousand, and two thousand taka, respectively, along with medals and certificates. 

Students who placed between fourth and tenth were also recognized with medals and certificates.

A major highlight for the top thirty students is that they’ll soon travel to the U.S. to take part in NASA’s prestigious ‍‍`NASA Rover Challenge‍‍` competition. 

This year, students will compete in the ‍‍`Remote Control Rover‍‍` and ‍‍`Human Power Rover‍‍` events at the NASA Rover Challenge in Alabama.

For the past three years, winning students from STEM Fest have represented Bangladesh at NASA‍‍`s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.

International Hope School is currently the only school from Bangladesh participating in this NASA competition, ranking second in the world in terms of school-level participants.

Last year, ten winning students from the third STEM Fest traveled to the U.S. to compete at NASA, and this year, thirty students will head to NASA headquarters for competitions from April 10-14.

Founded in 1996 in Uttara, Dhaka, International Hope School Bangladesh continues to inspire students to push boundaries in science and technology.