Schedule for Bebras Challenge 2024:
- Registration as a school coordinator (by teachers only): 9 Sep. 24 – 25 Oct. 24
- Submission of participants (students) list (by a registered teacher only): 9 Sep. 24 – 31 Oct. 24
- Bebras challenge 2024 weeks: 11 – 22 Nov. 24 (The system open daily, during the hours of 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM only.) : https://contest.bebras.in.th (open for access during the Bebras challenge weeks only) (certificates will be issued to all participants through their school coordinators within 1-2 weeks after the challenge weeks)
- Scholarship competition round at School of Information Technology, KMITL: 14 Dec. 2024 (participation by invitation only)
What is Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge?
Bebras Challenge is the name of the world-wide computational thinking skill test event. Volunteer organizations from countries around the world participate in this annual event. Each year, the organization representing each country makes available an online testing site for schools in that country to organize the test for their own students. The event is held simultaneously around the world in November each year. The objective of the challenge is to promote information technology education and computational thinking skill development for students of various ages.
What is Computational Thinking?
Computational thinking is a set of skill essential to logical problem solving. It plays an important part in many disciplines such as computer programming, information technology, humanities, mathematics and science. The computational thinking consists of four interrelated skills (see also definition on BBC Bitesite):
- Decomposition – breaking down a complex problem or system into smaller, more manageable parts
- Pattern Recognition – looking for similarities among and within problems
- Abstraction – focusing on the important information only, ignoring irrelevant detail
- Algorithm Design – developing a step-by-step solution to the problem, or the rules to follow to solve the problem
Brief History of Bebras Challenge
The idea of Bebras challenge was first envisioned by Prof. Valentina Dagiene from University of Vilnius, in Lithuania. Bibras is a beaver in Lithuanian language. The name of the challenge was chosen due to the beaver’s hard-working habit, as well as it’s intelligence, and engineering skills.
Currently, Bebras challenge is organized in than 50 countries around the world. Countries participating in this annual event, include United States, United Kingdom, France, Japan, South Korea, Egypt, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore. For more information, please visit the official international Bebras site, and the list of participating countries.
Bebras Challenge in Thailand
Bebras challenge in Thailand has been organized by the School of Information Technology King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang. We were appointed by the International Bebras organization to become a member of the international Bebras challenge committee, and obtain the right to organize a Bebras challenge in Thailand. The first Thailand Bebras challenge was organized in the year 2018, and has been held every year until 2020. In the year 2021, it was omitted due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The event in Thailand has been resumed again since 2022.
Organized annually, the Bebras Thailand challenge is divided into 2 rounds for junior and senior high school students. For the first round, the test is conducted online at the participating schools, typically during November-December of every year. This is the main challenge event that is arranged by every organizer in each participating country. In Thailand, the additional (scholarship competition) round is arranged shortly after the first round. Selected students participating in the first round are invited to compete in the final round at the School of Information Technology, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang.