The International Astronomy and Astrophysics Competition (IAAC) is an international competition that tests students from all over the world in knowledge of astronomy and astrophysics. Originated in Germany in 2019, this global event brings together future astrophysicists and provides them with an international platform to compete with the tools and skills required to find success in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics.
About 10,000 students from around 68 countries participated in IAAC 2022, with over 200 participants from Bangladesh. More than 50 Bangladeshi participants received bronze, silver and gold awards. Among them, IUT (Islamic University of Technology) achieved 13 awards - 8 bronze and 5 silver - breaking their previous year's record of 8 awards in the same competition.
This year's IAAC Silver awards winners from IUT were Hasnaine Ahmed Dihan, Mohsina Tabassum Rifa, Safin Mahmood, Md. Ikrama Hossain and Tahsin Muhammed Payel. The Bronze award winners from IUT were Aftab Ibn Nazim, Raian E Rabbani, Nimul Hasan, Sami-ul-Haque Showviq, Mahdi Kamal, Bismy Illian Maeem, Ramisha Salsabil and Chowdhury Sarjia Faiza.
The award winners primarily belonged to the IUT Al-Fazari Interstellar Society, the university's astronomy and astrophysics club. Consisting of around 100 members, the club has conducted olympiads and astrophotography competitions, as well as hosted group training sessions to prepare for the IAAC 2022. According to Rubaiat Rehman Khan, Founding President at IUT Al-Fazari Interstellar Society, the questions of this year's IAAC mostly revolved around the James Webb Space Telescope. He said, "We organised online and offline teaching sessions to discuss the JWST, focusing on how it captures distant light. We also prepared participants on solving advanced scientific problems based on our experience from last year."
IAAC is divided into two levels: junior (under 18 years) and youth (over 18 years). Points needed to qualify for the competition rounds vary depending on the age-based levels. The qualification round consists of five astronomy problems, which can be downloaded from the IAAC website. These problems range from specific calculations to knowledge-based questions.
After passing the first stage, participants qualify for the pre-final round, where the questions test more in-depth knowledge of astrophysics. In the pre-final round, there are six problems, divided into two basic problems, two advanced problems and two research problems. Participants clearing the pre-final round are then invited to join the final round, which is a single online exam with 20 multiple-choice questions on the fields of astronomy and astrophysics. Awards and prizes are given according to how many points a participant has obtained in the final round.
The initial entry to the competition is completely free of charge. However, participants who have qualified for the pre-final round need to pay 8 Euro to register for the rest of the competition. The grand total prize pool for the competition is 600 Euro, divided among the participants in the top three positions. The total prize money of 600 Euro is distributed among the top three participants of the two categories. The 3rd position get 50 Euro, the 2nd position gets 100 Euro and the 1st place winner receives 150 Euro with their printed certificate sent to their address. All other finalists win Bronze, Silver or Gold Honours with their own certificate in PDF format.