Dr. Norbert Myslinski founded the IBB at the University of Maryland in 1999 with 12 local chapters in North America. It has now grown to more than 150 chapters in more than 30 countries and six continents. Approximately thirty thousand students compete annually.

Winners have been recognised by Presidents and Ambassadors and other public officials. Many former competitors are now working in neuroscience, neurology, psychology and related fields.

Australia's International Brain Bee Dominance

Australia has won the International Brain Bee three times – in 2012 (Teresa Tang, QLD), 2013 (Jackson Huang, QLD) and 2015 (Jade Pham, NSW)

International Champions 2012 - current

  • The 2023 and 25th IBB World Championship was held virtually from July 31 to August 5, 2023, in conjunction with the American Psychological Association (APA) Annual Convention in Washington, DC. A total of 31 national Brain Bee champions from across the globe took part in the competition, each having previously won the highest level of Brain Bee competition in their country to qualify for the World Championship.
  • The 2022 IBB World Championship was held virtually on July 2-9, in conjunction with the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum 2022 in Paris, and in collaboration with the Paris Brain Institute.  A total of 31 National Brain Bee Champions from across the globe took part, having previously won their national or regional Brain Bee to qualify for the international championship.
  • The 2021 IBB World Championship was held virtually on November 5-8, 2021. The event included the Champions of any national competitions that were eligible for the 2020 World Championship, since it was cancelled due to the COVID19 Pandemic. Both 2020 and 2021 National Champions competed together but we announced two sets of winners.
  • The 2020 IBB World Championship was held virtually on November 5-8, 2021.The event included the Champions of any national competitions that were eligible for the 2021 World Championship, since the 2020 IBB was cancelled due to the COVID19 Pandemic. Both 2020 and 2021 National Champions competed together but we announced two sets of winners.
  • The 2019 International Brain Bee World Championship was held in Daegu, South Korea, in conjunction with the 10th International Brain Organization World Congress of Neuroscience.   Sophia Ye from New Zealand placed 4th and Silas Hansch-Maher placed 5th from 28 participants from around the world.
  • The 2018 International Brain Bee World Championship was held in Berlin, Germany, in conjunction with the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Annual Congress. 
  • The 2017 International Brain Bee World Championship was held will be in Washington D.C., USA, in conjunction with the American Psychological Association Annual Convention.
  • The 2016 International Brain Bee competition was held in Copenhagen, Denmark hosted by the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) 10th Forum of Neuroscience. The Champion of the 2016 International Brain Bee was Ana Ghenciulescu from Romania.
  • The 2015 International Brain Bee competition was  hosted for the first time by Australia at the joint meeting of the Australasian Neuroscience Society (ANS), the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN) and the Asian Pacific Society for Neurochemistry (APSN). The competition was held at the Cairns Convention Centre (opens in new window), in Tropical North Queensland, in August  2015. The Champion of the 2015 International Brain Bee was Jade Pham from James Ruse Agriculture High School, Bankstown, NSW, Australia.
  • The 2014 International Brain Bee Championship was held in Washington, DC, in conjunction with the American Psychological Association Convention. Eva Wang from Brisbane represented Australia as our National Champion. The Champion of the 2014 International Brain Bee was Gayathri Muthukumar of Bangalore, India. 
  • The 2013 International Brain Bee Championship (IBBC) was held in Vienna, Austria in conjunction with the 21st World Congress of Neurology. The 2013 Champion was Jackson Huang from the Academy for Science, Mathematics and Technology, Queensland.
  • The 2012 International Brain Bee Championship was held in Cape Town, South Africa in conjunction with the International Congress of Psychology. The 2012 Champion was Teresa Tang from Brisbane State High School in Australia. 

Find out more about the International Brain Bee.