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Germany BiologieOlympiad (IBO Selection): Official Outline of the Path to IBO

Germany sends four students to the International Biology Olympiad (IBO). At the 37th IBO in Vilnius, Lithuania (12 to 19 July 2026), the German team of four won three silver medals and one bronze medal.1 This page outlines how the path to that team works according to the sources we could read. It is a map of the structure, not an insider’s account of what the exams feel like. Most of the official material is in German, and the places where we depend on our own translation are marked.

Programme
BiologieOlympiad Germany, listed by the IBO as Internationale BiologieOlympiade - Deutschland2
Organiser
IPN, Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education, Kiel2,1
Who can enter
Pupils at a general-education school in Germany, under 20 on 30 June of the IBO year3
Stages
Four rounds: home assignment, school exam, round 3 at IPN Kiel, round 4 at IPN Kiel, then the IBO team of four
Official website
scienceolympiaden.de/ibo, as listed by the IBO
Language
German for the national rounds, as far as we could tell; the IBO itself is in English

The path at a glance

Stage What happens How sure we are
Round 1 Tasks sent to schools each April, mostly done at home, finished by the end of September Good for timing; the exact task format differs a little between sources
Round 2 A theory exam at your school in November Good for timing; the number who advance and the question mix differ between sources
Round 3 A week at IPN Kiel in February with about 45 students, theory exam and lab practicals Good, stated by two sources
Round 4 A week at IPN Kiel in May with up to about 12 students Good, stated by two sources
IBO team The four best of round 4 form the German team Good; the weighting of scores is not stated

Round 1: the home assignment

The first round starts in April of the year before the IBO and ends in September. For the 2027 IBO the dates on the national site are 1 April to 25 September 2026.4 Task sheets go out to schools each spring, registration opens online at the same time, and the tasks can also be downloaded.3 The brochure says three of the four tasks are done as homework, with a deadline that depends on the federal state, and that the tasks are unusual and somewhat harder than normal school tasks.3 The IBO’s directory says the tasks include experimental and literature research tasks, are open to every school pupil, and are marked by school teachers.2 The national site says you register for the round in the competition portal and then link yourself to your supervising teacher with a code.4 The IBO lists roughly 1,200 to 1,400 participants in this round; see the box below for how that compares with the 2026 press release.2

Round 2: the theory exam at school

Round 2 is a theory exam taken at your own school in November, with sealed papers that even the teacher does not see in advance.3 The 2027 dates on the national site are 1 to 20 November 2026.4 The brochure describes two hours with a mix of multiple choice and complex tasks, and the IBO’s directory describes 120 minutes with 30 multiple choice questions and a set of complex questions from all areas of biology, marked by representatives of the federal states.3,2 The brochure says that not every task has to be solved to advance. The number who advance is the best-sourced figure of about 500, and the box below explains why other figures exist.3 Past round 2 papers are published on the competition website.3

Round 3: a week at IPN Kiel

About 45 of the strongest round 2 students are invited to IPN in Kiel at the end of February.3,2 The national site gives 14 to 19 February 2027 for the next edition, and 15 to 20 February 2026 for the last.4 There are two exams: a four-hour theory exam and a practical exam in three laboratories.3 The IBO’s directory gives the theory exam as 80 multiple choice and 20 complex questions and the practical day as three laboratory exams of 75 minutes each, marked by the coordinators together with former competitors.2 The brochure says ten to twelve winners emerge from this round, and that participants who turn 17 only in the IBO year can also qualify for the European Olympiad of Experimental Science (EOES) from here.3

Round 4: the final selection

Round 4 is a second week at IPN Kiel, in May, with up to about 12 students.2,3 The national site gives 17 to 22 May 2027 for the next edition and 17 to 22 May 2026 for the last.4 The IBO’s directory describes a theory exam of four hours similar to round 3 and three laboratory exams, two of 90 minutes and one physiology exam of four hours, and says the four best students are selected as the German team.2 The brochure adds that the German Academic Scholarship Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes) runs an integrated admission procedure during this round, and the IBO’s directory says the four team members receive a scholarship from the foundation.3,2 The sources we could read do not say how the scores of the exams are weighted into the final ranking.

The IBO team and its training

Four students make up the German team.2,3 The 2026 press release says the 2026 team trained in a one-week seminar together with the Swiss IBO team in Riederalp in the Swiss Alps, and the IBO’s directory lists earlier training camps in Zurich, Kiel, Singapore, Mainz, Bern, Dresden, Bern again and Leipzig.1,2 The next IBO, the 38th, is in Warsaw, Poland, from 18 to 26 July 2027 on the national site’s calendar.4 As for history, a 1999 notice from the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) records that the selection competition was added to the national catalogue of supported pupil competitions, that German pupils had taken part since 1990, and that the selection then already had four rounds.5

Points for an Author

If you went through this programme yourself, these are the points we most need you to settle. They are grouped here so that nothing uncertain is buried in the text above.

Where the sources disagree

  • How many students advance from round 1 to round 2. The 2027 brochure says about 500,3 while the IBO’s directory says up to 650.2 Both read as current. We use about 500 because it comes from the national organiser.
  • The round 2 question mix. The brochure says 30 multiple choice and six complex tasks in two hours,3 while the IBO’s directory says 30 multiple choice and eight complex questions in 120 minutes.2 This rests on our translation of the brochure.
  • Round 1 format. The brochure says three of four tasks are done at home,3 while the IBO’s directory says four complex tasks that the students can solve at home.2
  • How many take part in round 1. The IBO’s directory says roughly 1,200 to 1,400,2 while the 2026 press release says about 1,200 took part in the whole selection that produced the 2026 team.1 These may measure different things.
  • The length of the training camp. The IBO’s directory says the camp lasts no longer than five days,2 while the 2026 press release describes a one-week seminar.1
  • The official website. The brochure and the press release name biologieolympiade.info as the competition site,3,1 but when we tried to open it the connection failed. The IBO lists scienceolympiaden.de/ibo, which loaded.
  • The brochure’s general IBO description. It says about 70 nations take part and the IBO always falls in the second week of July,3 while the 2026 press release gives 81 countries and the national calendar gives 18 to 26 July for 2027.1,4 We treat the brochure’s wording as dated.

Gaps a firsthand author could fill

  • The language of the national rounds and the tasks. The sources we could read do not say, and we assume German.
  • Whether there is any restriction by school year, since the sources give only the school type and the age limit.
  • How the roughly 500 students are chosen from round 1, and what score is needed.
  • How the exam scores in round 4 are combined into the ranking of the four team members.
  • What the round 3 and round 4 weeks are like, how students prepared, and what they wish they had known.
  • How the experience differs between federal states, since marking and deadlines in the first rounds are handled locally.

A firsthand author can settle every one of these points. If that could be you, email us or read how it works.

BiOGuide tips for students aiming at this path

These are general tips from BiOGuide, not advice from a German participant, and they apply to any student aiming at an IBO team.

  • Start with the past papers. The brochure itself advises starting early and getting used to the task types, and says past tasks are on the competition website. Our practice papers hold past IBO papers, which use the same style of question as the later rounds.
  • Cover the molecular and plant sides. The brochure’s sample tasks come from molecular genetics and plant microscopy, which line up with our notes on genetics, plant anatomy and cell and molecular biology.
  • Practise physiology and lab skills. Rounds 3 and 4 include laboratory exams and round 4 includes a long physiology exam, so see our animal physiology notes and the practical sections.
  • Learn the English terms. The IBO papers are in English, so learn the English names of structures, processes and methods even if you study in German. The IBO preparation guide explains the international format.
  • Use the official channels for anything dated. Each round has its own window every year, and the competition portal and your teacher decide the details, not us.

Official links and sources

  1. Press release on the 37th IBO and the German team, 2026 (in German, PDF, undated but written after 19 July 2026). scienceolympiaden.de
  2. International Biology Olympiad, country page for Internationale BiologieOlympiade - Deutschland. ibo-info.org. The page is undated, and the figures for the rounds partly differ from the brochure.
  3. Official brochure for the IBO 2027 selection (in German, PDF, file dated March 2026). scienceolympiaden.de. Parts of its general text are dated, as noted above.
  4. Official IBO page with the calendar and registration steps for 2026 and 2027 (in German, undated, current when we read it). scienceolympiaden.de/ibo
  5. Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK), notice of 17 May 1999 on the selection competition (in German, government source, old). kmk.org

Facts taken from sources 1, 3, 4 and 5 are in German and depend on our own translation.

This outline was last checked on 8 October 2026 and will age. Spotted an error or out-of-date detail? Email r6394175@gmail.com.