国際科学五輪 理系人材を生かす社会作ろう

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Scientific talent must be nurtured for the sake of Japan’s future
国際科学五輪　理系人材を生かす社会作ろう

Japanese students have been performing well at the International Science Olympiads, an annual event in which international high school students and others receiving secondary-level education compete on scientific knowledge and thinking power.
　世界の高校生らが知識や思考力を競う「国際科学五輪」で、日本勢が好成績を収めている。

Efforts should be increased to discover and nurture talented young people who will play leading roles in shaping the future of Japan as a nation that can thrive on the strength of its scientific and technological power.
　科学技術立国の将来を担う人材を発掘し、育てる取り組みを強めたい。

The ISO is a group of annual competitions in various scientific disciplines. The rankings of participants are decided through scores based on written examinations, experiments and other tests.
　科学五輪は、科目別の大会が毎年実施され、筆記や実験などの試験で順位が決まる。

A certain percentage of high achievers in each scientific area are awarded gold, silver and bronze medals. About 10 percent of top contestants take home gold.
成績上位者に一定の割合で金、銀、銅のメダルが贈られる。金メダルを手にできるのは上位の約１割だ。

In July, Japanese students competed in five ISO areas—mathematics, informatics, biology, physics and chemistry—with four to six contenders in each field. All of the Japanese participants earned medals.
　７月に開かれた数学、情報、生物学、物理、化学の５大会に、日本代表は各４～６人が参加し、全員がメダルを獲得した。

Of the six Japanese participants in the mathematics ISO, four were awarded gold medals. In the informatics area, a middle school student achieved the feat of winning a gold medal. It was reassuring to see these young Japanese people earn recognition in international competitions.
　数学では参加６人中、４人が金メダル、情報では中学生が金に輝いた。日本の若者の実力が世界で認められたのは心強い。

Our nation began stepping up efforts to succeed in the ISO about 10 years ago. In 2004, the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry began taking action to assist with these efforts. The ministry has set aside about ¥200 million in funds for such purposes this fiscal year, including costs to send contestants to ISO competitions and giving them special training.
　日本が科学五輪に力を入れ始めたのは、１０年ほど前だ。文部科学省は２００４年から支援に乗り出し、今年度も派遣費や強化費などに約２億円を投じている。

Domestic ISO contests in this country, through which Japanese participants for the ISO finals are selected, have been increasing in size year by year. In 2004, 3,200 students competed at home, and the figure exceeded 16,000 last year. In the past, high school students from urban districts accounted for the majority of ISO finalists from Japan. Nowadays, more students from other areas earn themselves places in the list of finalists.
　代表を選ぶ国内大会も年々、規模が大きくなってきた。０４年に３２００人だった参加者は、昨年は１万６０００人を上回った。かつては都市部の高校生が大半を占めたが、今では地方からの参加者も代表を射止めるようになった。

Success breeds success

This seems to suggest that middle and high school students nationwide have been inspired by the splendid showing made by Japanese ISO finalists from their generation, largely as a result of the increasing degree to which the ISO is recognized. The situation can be seen as a good opportunity to discover talented young people from around the country.
　大会の認知度が上がり、同世代の活躍が中高生の刺激になっているのだろう。全国の優れた才能を見いだす好機と言える。

Giving Japanese students opportunities to mix with talented youths from other nations in international settings will help broaden their outlook on the world. Given this, government support for prospective Japanese participants in the ISO finals is greatly significant.
　国際舞台で、他国の優秀な若者と触れ合えば、視野も広がる。政府が、科学五輪への出場を後押しする意義は大きい。

The international ISO contest is a test of competitors’ knowledge and skills on scientific themes that can go beyond the contents of Japanese school textbooks. To cope with this, teaching staff from colleges and universities in the nation undertake the task of coaching candidates for the ISO at training camps, thus enabling them to better compete in the finals.
　五輪では、日本の教科書のレベルを超えた内容も出題される。それに備え、強化合宿では大学教員が指導役となり、代表候補に英才教育を施している。

A considerable number of high school teachers have visited such training camps, hoping to learn how to teach students more effectively. It is important to ensure that efforts to compete well in the ISO also contribute to improving the level of our nation’s science and mathematics education.
　合宿を見学し、指導方法を学ぶ高校教員も少なくない。科学五輪を理数教育全体のレベルアップにつなげることが大切である。

More than 20 domestic universities, including Tohoku and Keio, have set quotas in their entrance exams for high achievers at domestic ISO competitions. Under a recommendation-based admission system to be introduced in autumn next year, meanwhile, the University of Tokyo will consider the achievements gained by candidates at domestic ISO preliminaries. Such efforts are likely to motivate more students to try to qualify for the finals in the annual scientific knowledge contest.
　国内大会の上位者向けに、東北大、慶応大など２０以上の大学が特別入試枠を設けている。東京大も来秋から実施する推薦入試で、大会の成績を考慮する。より多くの生徒が、五輪出場に挑戦する動機付けになるだろう。

One of the important tasks facing colleges and universities is to further cultivate the talents of gifted students and produce graduates who can play a role in the advancement of society. We hope each college and university will improve its educational programs and research systems.
　優れた才能をさらに伸ばし、社会の発展に貢献できる人材に育て上げることが、大学の重要な責務である。各大学は教育・研究体制の充実に努めてもらいたい。

If no progress is made in creating an environment that utilizes at home the excellence of people gifted with scientific and mathematical knowledge and skills, it is feared a brain drain will ensue. Further efforts must be made to provide talented young people with opportunities to play an active part in society after finishing their school studies.
　国内で理数系の英知を活用する環境整備が進まなければ、海外に優秀な人材が流出してしまう懸念もある。社会に出てから有能な若者が活躍できる場を、さらに広げることが求められる。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 7, 2014)