The seventh National Science TalentContest (NSTC) has been launched by the STEM Careers Programme in collaboration with Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS).      The nationwide screening test will be held on 17th of January in eight major cities of the country, while deadline for receiving nomination forms is December 11.

NSTC is aimed at inspiring youth of the nation to opt for careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, and preparing them for participation in the annual International

Olympiads in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics.

The students are initially selected through a nationwide screening test from among applicants with at least 75% marks in their SSC or O-level examinations, studying in FSc/A-Level (Part-I).

Subsequent selection is done through a series of training camps through a process of teaching and testing.

Fifty selected students will be invited to a series of training camps in different home institutions, including National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad for Biology; HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, Karachi for Chemistry; School of Mathematical Sciences (SMS), GCU Lahore for Mathematics; and PIEAS, Islamabad for Physics.

In 2009, Pakistani students participated in the International Olympiads for the fourth time and won seven Bronze Medals and two Honorable Mentions. It is worth mentioning here that students selected and groomed under NSTC have also been able to secure admissions with scholarships for their higher studies in top ranking universities such as Stanford, MIT, Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Caltech, Mc Gill, University of Toronto and Oxford etc.