IB Core Incursion and Symposium
At the end of 2023, the International Baccalaureate (IB) students at Ivanhoe Grammar School participated in the annual IB Core Incursion and Symposium. The Core Incursion provides students with an opportunity to complete the core components of the IB Diploma Programme and showcase their work to the wider Ivanhoe community.
The Core Incursion doubles as a symposium, where students listen to guest speakers and participate in workshops that allow them to make real-world connections with the topics they learn about in class. Each year the symposium is guided by a general theme, the theme for 2023 was ‘Complex Systems: Ecology, Identity, Technology’. Students were encouraged to think about how complex systems work in the areas of ecology, political identity, and Artificial Intelligence.
Guest speakers included Professor Bernd Meyer, from the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University. Professor Meter explained how the study of ant colonies has led to the discovery of principles of self-organisation that can be applied to the development of machine learning and AI.
Carolyn D’Cruz, Senior Lecturer in the Gender Sexuality Division Studies at Latrobe University, joined a panel of IB students to discuss the complexities of identity politics in what was an enriching dialogue and debate.
Ivanhoe’s very own Justin Morrisey spoke to the IB students about ecosystems as complex systems, which was the topic of his doctoral thesis.
IB students presented their Theory of Knowledge exhibitions in Buckley Hall and their science projects on ‘complex systems’ were displayed in a virtual space. Current parents can view the exhibition by logging in using their Ivanhoe Connect login details.
The five-day symposium was a great success and demonstrated an abundance of creative, innovative, and analytical thinking from the IB students.
