Prognosis Optima!: How the local Novosibirsk Olympiad won the hearts of biomedical students from around the world

Rodion Ivashchenko, one of the founders of the Olympiad and a student at the Zelman Institute explained how the Olympiad became a global event in only two years. “Prognosis Optima!”, a comprehensive medical Olympiad in Pathology was created in 2020 as a local initiative by students and teachers at the Novosibirsk State University V. Zelman Institute of Medicine and Psychology . Today, after two seasons, it is a major ….[]

“Prognosis Optima!”, a comprehensive medical Olympiad in Pathology was created in 2020 as a local initiative by students and teachers at the Novosibirsk State University V. Zelman Institute of Medicine and Psychology. Today, after two seasons, it is a major student, scientific, and creative competition not only for students at NSU, but for representatives from other Russian and foreign universities.

Rodion Ivashchenko, one of the founders of the Olympiad and a student at the Zelman Institute explained,

The era of the pandemic has shown how fragile human life is and how important qualified medical personnel are to maintain stability and prosperity in a country. Understanding this, I gathered like-minded people around me to create a new form of active and productive interaction for biomedical students in the format of a scientific competition. This is how Prognosis Optima! was born.

After the success of the first season, the organizers decided to expand the Olympiad to the whole country, and later to make it available to English-speaking participants from all over the world. In the second season, thanks to the active promotion of Prognosis Optima! in social networks and by the organizers, the geography of participants expanded to 26 cities in the Russian Federation. Today students from India, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Iran, and the United States (including from the famous Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore) have registered for our third season.

Rodion added,

I am sure that Prognosis Optima! already equals other events from different cities of Russia. We were able to inspire and prove that plans are realized and dreams come true! If you are interested in this project, if you are burning with interest in medicine and the science related to it, I am happy to invite you to the “orange” side (the color of Prognosis Optima!). Good luck!”

Registration for the English speaking league is open until September 12. More details about participation requirements can be found in social media accounts of Prognosis Optima!