Hear from colleagues who volunteered to contribute to the International Biology Olympiad (IBO), find out about their role and what they enjoyed about it. It's a chance to see some of the activity that went on behind the scenes to help make the IBO a success.

Behind the scenes with...

Dr Stuart Allen
Senior Teaching Fellow
School of Life Sciences

Role for the International Biology Olympiad: Co-developer of Biochemistry Practical exam

My usual job involves…
teaching, tutorials, curriculum development and curriculum administration.

In advance of the International Biology Olympiad I…
worked with colleagues to develop the Biochemistry practical exam.

During the International Biology Olympiad I…
worked with a team of academics, technicians and student volunteers to set up and deliver the Biochemistry practical exam.

I really enjoyed being involved with…
colleagues from across the department.

The International Biology Olympiad is unique because…
of the collegiate manner in which colleagues worked to deliver a world class event to students from over 60 countries.

If I could change one thing about the International Biology Olympiad it would be…
open and accessible to more students from across the world… which is in progress…

Not everyone knows that…
the ‘patient samples’ we produced for the Biochemistry exam were actually from baker’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae; 900 aliquots for each of three patients were produced for the event.

Hear from other colleagues behind the scenes