National achievements were again carved by the University of Indonesia (UI) contingent. This time UI, represented by 17 students from across faculties, won the most awards in the 2024 National Mathematics and Natural Sciences Olympiad – Higher Education (ONMIPA-PT). The UI contingent, dominated by students from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA), managed to win championships in every branch of the competition competed, namely Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics and Biology.
The awards won by the UI contingent consisted of 3 gold medals, 6 silver medals, 4 bronze medals, and 4 honorable mentions. This achievement increased from previous years, namely in 2022 with a total of 13 awards, and in 2023 as many as 14 awards.
In Mathematics, the gold medal was won by Muhammad Jilan Wicaksono, FMIPA class of 2022; the silver medal was won by Patrick Darian and Jery, both from FMIPA class of 2022 and 2021. Meanwhile, Brayen Damara, FMIPA class of 2022 and Mohammad Ferry Husnil Arif, Faculty of Computer Science class of 2021 won honorable mention.
In the field of Physics, all students from FMIPA, namely Jovan Alfian Djaja won a gold medal; M. Naufal Atahullah and Shaun Michael Dayanti Intong won silver medals, all three from the class of 2021. Meanwhile, the bronze medal was won by Faris Ramadhantyo Darmawan, class of 2022.
In the field of Chemistry, Muhammad Adyan Dafin, Faculty of Engineering class of 2023 won a gold medal. The silver medal and honorable mention were won by FMIPA students class of 2021 and 2020, namely Christopher Jenaro and Jonathan Evan.
Meanwhile, in the Biology field, FMIPA students won a silver medal, namely Rayhan Devishkar Al-Mahmud, class of 2022. The bronze medal was won by Chaulah Achyar, class of 2021 and Muhammad Irfan Afifudin, class of 2020; Simon Sebastian Gunawan, class of 2022. Honorable mention was won by Rendi Saputra, a student of the Faculty of Nursing, class of 2021.
ONMIPA-PT 2024 will be held at Hasanudin University, Makassar, South Sulawesi on May 13-16, 2024. Before becoming participants, UI students must take part in university and regional level selections. Muhammad Jilan Wicaksono, a gold medalist in Mathematics, said that the selection at the university level was held about one to two months before the regional selection.
The question format was made like a regional level to simulate the actual test. “At this stage, UI successfully sent 19 students to the national level and competed with 260 other participants from 89 universities throughout Indonesia,” said Jilan.
This success is inseparable from the training and guidance process held by UI since the university level selection. Jovan Alfian Djaja, Gold medalist in Physics said that UI students from the science, technology and health groups competed to get one of five UI contingent positions for each field (Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics). “The five best students in each field were then given training/guidance by the supervisors of each field and previous medal winners as preparation to face the regional and national levels,” said Jovan.
Olympiad experience at the high school level is also a determining factor for the success of UI students at the 2024 ONMIPA-PT event. Muhammad Adyan Dafi, a gold medalist in Chemistry, was a finalist at the 2023 International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO). He said that this experience was one of the determining factors for his success in winning a gold medal in chemistry at the 2024 ONMIPA-PT.
Both Adyan, Jovan, and Jilan agree on the importance of practicing questions regularly to excel in their respective fields. All three have their own ways to maintain consistency in learning for ONMIPA-PT 2024. Adyan optimizes consistency by actively asking lecturers and previous medal winners. Jovan maintains consistency through the process of teaching the material to others. Meanwhile, Jilan emphasizes the importance of specializing in the material in order to maintain focus while studying.
