IChO 2021 Japan remote IChO

Welcome messages FY2020


  • Yoshihiko Hosoi

    It is our great privilege to be able to hold the 53rd International Chemistry Olympiad at Kindai University’s East Osaka Campus in 2021.

    With 6 campuses situated in western Japan, Kindai University boasts comprehensive Japan-leading educational facilities, offering options in all areas of study, from Medicine to the Arts through our 14 faculties and junior college. We implement “Learning for the real world” as our founding principle throughout all our faculties, with the aim of producing students that make a difference in society. Lately, through our establishment of the Faculty of International Studies and programs such as our development of students with Russia, we are moving forward by strengthening our international presence, pursuing agreements with many overseas institutions and increasing the number of foreign exchange students on our campuses.

    We continue to add to our track record of further promotion of our global education and research environment. In April 2017 we opened “ACADEMIC THEATER” at our East Osaka Campus, a facility which goes beyond science and arts, and seeks to facilitate resolutions to many different issues facing society.

    At the same East Osaka Campus, as the world sets its eyes on the manufacturing hub that is Osaka, in June 2019 the G20 summit was held, and the city is also an ideal locale for the upcoming 2025 World Expo, as a convenient gateway to Nara and Kyoto, which represent the origin of traditional Japanese culture.

    Due to the pandemic, the worldwide sports festival, the Olympics and Paralympics, will be held in Tokyo in 2021, and by curious coincidence, at exactly the same time in the hotspot that is Osaka, Kindai University will host the International Chemistry Olympiad, a festival celebrating the mental abilities of high school students from around the world.

    All of the staff and teachers at Kindai University are working together tirelessly to ensure the facilities and equipment available to these high school students is top notch, so they can freely show their true intellectual power. We are also setting up opportunities for the people to experience Japanese culture, doing our utmost to prepare an environment for international exchange. We are truly looking forward to welcoming everyone to our East Osaka Campus at Kindai University.

  • Kohei Tamao

    The 53rd International Chemistry Olympiad IChO2021 will be held in Osaka, Japan, from Saturday, July 24 to Monday, August 2, 2021. On behalf of the Organizing Committee, I look forward to welcoming many talented high-school students who love chemistry to Japan.
    Chemistry is all around us as the central science. Chemistry has a mission to create new materials. Chemistry is the only scientific discipline that can understand and transform the structures and functions of materials at the atomic and molecular levels. Chemistry thus must play a key role in finding solutions for many global issues, including energy, environmental and resource related issues, that humanity is now facing. I hope that IChO2021 Japan contributes to foster many young talents who will be involved in the states of art of such aspects of chemistry.
    Osaka, the venue for IChO2021 is surrounded by two old capitals, Nara and Kyoto, as the birthplace of Japan’s politics and culture. Osaka is not just a lively, modern commercial city, but also is the birthplace of chemical research in Japan. I really hope that IChO2021 Osaka, Japan serves as a catalyzer for all participants to make many friends through personal communications and cultural exchanges.

    However, the situation surrounding us has changed significantly this year, 2020. We have been experiencing a difficult situation due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The IChO2020 Turkey was forced to be held online. I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation and congratulations to all members of the IChO2020 Turkey Organizing Committee and the Steering Committee for their great efforts to make the IChO2020 so successful with the Online Theory Exam on July 25 and the Online Closing Ceremony on July 30.
    I am convinced that the great success of Online IChO2020, as the first attempt in IChO history, should be worthy of note in the following three points: (1) It provided precious opportunity to many talented high school students around the world to enjoy chemistry in their own countries. (2) They were given hope and courage to overcome unprecedented difficulties. (3) International friendships and trust have been strengthened among over 60 participating countries. We have learned a lot from the Online IChO2020.
    At the end of the Closing Ceremony, I was invited to hand over the IChO flag through the computer from Professor Hasan Mandal, Chairman of the Organizing Committee for IChO2020 Turkey.
    It is finally our turn, but the situation is still uncertain. We have started preparations assuming an Online IChO2021, as well as a real event in Osaka, Japan. In any case, we, organizing committee members all together, will concentrate our efforts to lead a successful IChO2021 Japan.

    Our final decision will be announced in due course. We ask for the understanding and cooperation of all those involved.

    President: IChO Japan Committee
    Chairman: Organizing Committee for the 53rd IChO2021, Osaka, Japan
    President: Toyota Chemical and Physical Research Institute (Toyota RIKEN)
    Honorary Science Advisor of RIKEN
    Professor Emeritus Kyoto University

FY 2019