‘Apex Astro-Olympiad 2025’ to kick off on July 11

The 20th edition of the national astronomy talent competition, 'Apex Astro-Olympiad 2025', is set to begin on July 11.

Organised by the Bangladesh Astronomical Association, this three-month-long annual event aims to inspire school and college students in the field of astronomy. Apex Footwear Limited is the title sponsor, continuing its support from last year.

The Olympiad will be divided into two age-based categories. The junior group includes students aged 14–15 (born in 2010–2011), while the senior group includes students aged 16–18 (born in 2007–2009).

The competition will be held in three phases. The first round—preliminary selection—will be conducted across divisional and district cities from July 11 to 21. From there, 300 participants will be selected for the second round at the national level. The third and final round will be a closed camp, where a written test on the final day will determine the top five contestants.

These five winners will represent Bangladesh at the Open World Astronomy Olympiad in Russia from September 20 to 27. They will also be eligible to participate in the 29th International Astronomy Olympiad and the Asian-Pacific Astronomy Olympiad.

In a press conference held on Thursday (July 3) at East West University's Aftabnagar campus in Dhaka, Chairman of the Bangladesh Astronomical Association, Mashhurul Amin, stated that interested students can register by sending a fee of Tk 100 via bKash to 01915-653607.

The event was attended by Professor Dr Mohammad Farashuddin, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of East West University, as the chief guest. Special guests included the university’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Shams Rahman and Raihan Kabir, Assistant General Manager (Marketing) of Apex Footwear Limited.

Several organisations are partnering in this year’s Olympiad, including Guardian Life Insurance Limited, Pioneer Insurance Limited, Mutual Trust Bank Limited, ADN Telecom, Kedarpur Tea State, Russian House in Dhaka, and Watches World.

Media partners include Prothom Alo, Duronto Television, Channel i, bdnews24.com, and The Business Standard.