World Scholar's Cup, the prestigious international academic contest, was organized for the first time in Chisinau. 141 students from Moldova celebrated their knowledge by participating in four separate events, during which they showed their intelligence, agility of mind, creativity, and last but not least, they demonstrated that they know the meaning of team spirit. The event was hosted and sponsored by Heritage International School, in partnership with the Volunteer Program for the American Councils of International Education and Debate Academy Moldova. The event was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research of the Republic of Moldova.
Heritage aims to encourage Moldovan students to practice new skills, but also to inspire them to become part of a global community of future researchers and leaders.

Daniel Berdichevsky, founder of WSC: “We are very proud to have debuted with this beautiful event in Moldova and our sincere thanks go to Heritage International School for their efforts in organizing this competition. We choose for this mission only the schools that share our passion, to make this program as accessible as possible to all students. And that's because the school provides pupils not only with logistics, but also with the professional expertise, that can be felt every minute of the World Scholar's Cup experience.”

Bogdana Adamu, director, Heritage International School: “Heritage International School has been strategically committed to helping develop 21st century students and raising a generation with all the skills needed for the challenges of tomorrow. That is why we are continually applying international successful practices both in our educational and extracurricular activities. Today's event demonstrates how receptive students are to test their abilities and learn new things, when learning is combined with fun and a healthy competitive spirit. It has been an extraordinary experience for students, and we will make sure that we will offer many such opportunities in the future.”

They have managed in an “entangled world”

The theme of this year's World Scholar's Cup was “An Entangled World”, an idea that was approached from a number of perspectives and disciplines: literature, art, social science, history and technology. Thus, 48 teams of 20 schools with learners aged between 11 and 14 were tasked with debating on complex topics. Everyone had to demonstrate their speaking skills in English – the official language of the competition.

Cristina, participant: “We had 15 minutes to prepare our arguments, and the organizers told us that we are allowed to access the Internet. This was the rule I liked the most. But anyway, it was quite difficult to quickly select credible sources of information and to be convincing before the jury. I had great emotions during the speech.”
The participants also needed a lot of persuasion in the collective written test, where each member of the team chose a different subject. From a couple of assertions, students chose only one, which they developed into an essay, adopting a “pro” or “against” position.

Tomas, participant: “At one point, we could not hear each other anymore. But I understood quite quickly that we need to work together effectively to succeed. It was nothing like writing an essay at school. It was a lot more exciting, because we were pressured by time, and we had a lot to say, since the chosen topics were very relevant to us.”

The general knowledge quiz was by far the most challenging test. Students had a set of questions from 6 subjects and the freedom to choose several answers. The number of possible answers chosen was indirectly proportional to the number of points earned.

Beatrice, participant: “There were questions from all subjects: from poetry to politics. I enjoyed this method of testing our knowledge so much, so it does not really matter what score I had. It was a great experience.”
The most important event of the competition – Scholar's Bowl – was a triumph of intelligence, ingenuity and concentration. The participating teams answered the same questions in a limited time, so the tension in the room reached the maximum point.

The winners will go to Barcelona for the WSC Global Round
After the completion of the four stages, the winners of the first World Scholar's Cup in Moldova were nominated by a jury consisting of the teachers of the schools participating in the event and representatives of the WSC. The winning teams have qualified to join the global event in Barcelona where they can compete with representatives from other countries. For more details, visit: http://www.scholarscup.org/global-round/barcelona/

The finalists are students of the following schools:
Heritage International School
Liceul Teoretic „Natalia Gheorghiu”
QSI International School
Liceul Teoretic „Petre Ştefănucă”
Liceul Teoretic „Emil Nicula”
Gimnaziul „Nicolae Costin”
Liceul Teoretic „George Coşbuc”
Liceul „Andrei Vartic”
Liceul Teoretic „Ion Pelivan”
Liceul Teoretic „Ion Creangă”
Liceul Teoretic „Pro Succes”
Smart Language Center
Liceul Teoretic „George Coşbuc”
Liceul Teoretic „Mesterul Manole”
Liceul Municipal Teatral
Liceul „Vasile Coroban”
Liceul Cotiujenii Mari
Liceul Teoretic „Alexei Mateevici” 



The first edition of the World Scholar's Cup took place in 2007 in South Korea. Since then, the academic contest for school learners has expanded into more than 50 countries, becoming an international phenomenon.