Jakarta, <strong><em>NU Online</em></strong><br /> Unlike many people his age, 15-year-old Muhammad Iqbal Ibrahim genuinely enjoys studying science and wants to make a career out of it.<br /> <br /> &ldquo;I really love physics, and when I grow up I want to invent a renewable energy device that&rsquo;s just as good as the sun,&rdquo; he said.&<>lt;br /> <br /> Iqbal, who goes to Pribadi junior high school in Depok, said he considered himself fortunate that the education system had been designed to motivate and encourage students&rsquo; interest in the sciences.<br /> <br /> That interest and motivation helped him win a gold and a bronze medal at the International Junior Science Olympiad in Nigeria earlier this month, where he and 11 other students from Indonesia took on teams from 34 countries.<br /> <br /> Iqbal said his performance at the international event came as something of a surprise considering that he had failed to win anything at the National Science Olympiad, which was held in Medan a few months earlier.<br /> <br /> The Indonesian team in Nigeria won a total of three gold medals, five silvers and four bronzes.<br /> <br /> &nbsp;The gold medals went to Iqbal, Fransisca Susan, from Santa Ursula Junior High School in Jakarta, and Richard Akira Heru, from D.L. Domenico Savio Junior High School in Central Java.<br /> <br /> Sapriantono, head of the Indonesian team at the Olympiad, said he had seen a significant change in students&rsquo; attitude toward science over the past few years.<br /> <br /> &ldquo;More and more students are interested in studying science and are doing very well, not just in Jakarta but also in other provinces,&rdquo; he said as quoted by the Jakarta Globe.<br /> <br /> He said Indonesia&rsquo;s team in Nigeria had students from Jakarta, Purwokerto and Sragen in Central Java, Sumenep in East Java, and Tabanan in Bali.<br /> <br /> Despite the progress that has been made in science education over the last few years, Sapriantono added, Indonesia can still learn from countries like Taiwan, which emerged as the overall winner of this year&rsquo;s International Junior Science Olympiad with four gold medals.<br /> <br /> &ldquo;The students from Taiwan are very driven and passionate about science, not to mention the fact that their eduction system is very good,&rdquo; he said.<br /> <br /> National Education Minister Muhammad Nuh, speaking after meeting with the Indonesian team, said their performance in Nigeria was a great accomplishment for Indonesia and would help inspire more young people to take an interest in science &mdash; a subject most students still found difficult and frustrating.<br /> <br /> &ldquo;Our target is to dominate all kinds of academic Olympiads, in any country, and I believe we can do it,&rdquo; he added.<br /> <br /> Nuh said these kind of international competitions could prepare young Indonesians to become world-class researchers, as well as introduce them to a wider scientific network that might benefit them in the future.<br /> <br /> His ministry, he continued, would give each member of the team that competed in Nigeria a scholarship to study for a bachelor&rsquo;s degree at university.<br /> <br /> &ldquo;They&rsquo;re still young but they have made us extremely proud because it was through their efforts that the Indonesian flag was raised at a respected international event,&rdquo; he added.<br /> <br /> Iqbal said competing at the international Olympiad had been a valuable experience, introducing him to a diverse scientific community from around the world.<br /> <br /> He also said that science could be fun as long as teachers were able to make the lessons interesting.<br /> <br /> &ldquo;Students like myself are lucky because learning facilities today are better than before,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Now it&rsquo;s all up to the teachers to keep us interested.&rdquo;<br /> <br /> He added that more students would be eager to study science if teachers were able to get their lessons across clearly, using audio and visual aids and assigning projects, rather than focusing too much on theory.<br /> <br /> IJSO is an annual event for junior high school students to compete in their knowledge of mathematics, physics and biology. (dar)

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