What are the OLYMPIADS?
International Olympiads in Science and Mathematics are the world championships for
school students held every year in a different country. The most famous Olympiads
are The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), The International Physics Olympiad
(IPhO), The International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO), The International Biology Olympiad
(IBO), The International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) and The International Astronomy
Olympiad (IAO).
Countries send a delegation of students and leaders to participate at the International
level. India conducts National Olympiads to identify the best students who can represent
India at the international level.
When & how
should I start preparing for the Olympiads?
The Olympiads are the most prestigious school competition in the world. Students
have to go through a rigorous process to be selected for the Indian team. Students
selected to represent the country get an opportunity to compete and win prizes at
an International level. Students who represent India in the International Olympiads
in Physics / Chemistry / Mathematics /Informatics and Astronomy automatically qualify
for KVPY Fellowship. Organisations like Infoysys, Sasken, NASSCOM etc. also give
prizes to the participants and winners of the International Olympaids.
Usually students appear for the Olympiads in Class XI but brilliant students can
appear for the stage I exam even in lower classes and increase their no. of attempts
and even their medal tally as they can participate in the International Olympiads
till they reach Class XII. To help students excel in Olympiads,
ECT has various programs available depending on which class the student
is studying in.
Mathematical Olympiad
For the purpose of the Olympiad contests, the country
has been divided in about 25 regions. The selection process for participation in
the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) consists of the following stages:
Stage I: Regional Mathematical Olympiad (RMO): RMO is currently held on the first
Sunday of October each year in each of the regions in the country. All school students
from Class XI are eligible to appear in RMO. Students from Class XII may also appear
in RMO, but the number of students selected from Class XII is at most 6. Exceptionally
brilliant students from lower standards may also appear for RMO subject to the approval
of the Regional Coordinator. RMO is a 3-hour written test containing 6 or 7 problems.
On the basis of the performance in RMO, students are selected for the second stage.
The Regional Coordinators may charge a nominal fee to meet the expenses in organizing
the contest.
Stage 2: Indian National Mathematical Olympiad (INMO): INMO is currently held on
the third Sunday of January each year at the regional centres in all regions. Only
those students who are selected in RMO are eligible to appear in INMO. This contest
is a 4-hour written test. The evaluation of these papers is centralised. The top
75 contestants in INMO receive Merit Certificates.
Stage 3: International Mathematical Olympiad Training Camp (IMOTC): The top 30-35
INMO certificate awardees are invited to a month long training camp in May/June
each year. The number of students from Class XII who are selected for IMOTC is at
most 6. In addition to these 35 students, a certain number of INMO awardees of previous
year(s) who have satisfactorily undergone postal tuition over the year are also
invited to a second round of training. A team of six students is selected from the
combined pool of junior and senior batch participants, based on a number of selection
tests conducted during the camp, to represent India in the International Mathematical
Olympiad.
Stage 4: International Mathematical Olympiad(IMO):The six member team selected at
the end of lMOTC, accompanied by a leader and a deputy leader represent India at
IMO that is normally held in July each year in a chosen country. IMO consists of
two 4- and-a-half hour tests held on two consecutive days. The students of the Indian
team who win gold, silver and bronze medals at IMO receive cash prizes of Rs. 5000/-,
Rs. 4000/- and Rs. 3000/- respectively (prizes for 2008). The six students representing
India at IMO automatically qualify for Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY)
Fellowship.
Syllabus for Mathematical Olympiad (regional, national and international): Pre-degree
college mathematics. The difficulty level increases from RMO to INMO to IMO.
Nurture Programme : The INMO awardees who choose Mathematics as one of the subjects
in their undergraduate studies are eligible for a scholarship by NBHM (which is
at present Rs 1500/= per month) throughout their undergraduate studies. If they
further pursue their studies to masters, they continue to get scholarship (enhanced).
Even the students who do not pursue Mathematics in their undergraduate studies are
eligible for certain benefits under a novel programme instituted by NBHM, called
Nurture Programme. Under this programme, each batch of students (selected from among
the INMO awardees through their responses to a few sets of postal problems) is assigned
to an institution. The coordinator in that institution gives out some reading material
that the students can go through during their leisure time while pursuing their
undergraduate studies. At the end of each year, during summer, they are invited
to that institution for a contact programme with working Mathematicians. Based on
their performance, they may be recommended to a scholarship given by NBHM. This
programme continues for four years. Thus, even those who pursue under-graduate studies
in some other discipline can still get training in Mathematics and use it in their
further pursuit of knowledge.
Physics, Chemistry & Astronomy Olympiads
Stage I - National Standard Examination (NSE) in Physics & Chemistry Physics
& Chemistry: Every student aspiring to go through successive stages of the Olympiad
programme must enroll for NSE. NSEs are held at a large number of centres in the
country usually in the last week of November. All students of Class XII or below
(science stream) are eligible to appear for NSEs. A student may appear for more
than one Olympiad as per the examination schedule. Students who have passed Class
XII are not eligible. Astronomy: For the Junior level, students should be in Class
IX. For the Senior level, students should be in Class X or Class XI. NSE emphasizes
comprehension of the subject, not rote memory.
Stage II - Indian National Olympiad Examinations For Indian National Olympiad Examinations,
the national top 200-250 students selected from NSEP, NSEC and NSEA each are eligible
to appear for Indian National Physics Olympiad (INPhO), Indian National Chemistry
Olympiad (INChO) and Indian National Astronomy Olympiad (INAO) respectively. Indian
National Olympiads are held sometime in the last week of January or early February.
These examinations are held at about 15 Centres in the country. Questions and problems
in National Olympiads are usually non-conventional and of high difficulty level,
comparable to the International Olympiads. On the basis of performance in the National
Olympiads (theory) about 50 students are short-listed in each subject.
Stage III - Orientation cum Selection Camp (OCSC) Physics & Chemistry The short-listed
groups of about 35 students in each subject are invited to the Orientation cum Selection
camps at HBCSE. On the basis of their performance in OCSC, the best 20 students
in each subject qualify for merit awards, consisting of a merit certificate and
a set of complimentary books. The top 5 students in Physics, top 4 in Chemistry
are declared to be special merit awardees. These special merit awardees are given
a prize of Rs.5000/- each in the form of books and cash. In addition there are special
prizes in each subject to recognize meritorious performance in theory and experiments.
The special merit awardees in Physics constitute the 5-member student team to represent
India at the International Physics Olympiad. The special merit awardees in Chemistry
constitute the 4-member student team to represent India at the International Chemistry
Olympiad. Astronomy
The short-listed groups of about 25 students each for junior and senior levels are
invited together to the Orientation cum Selection camp. At the end of the camp,
20 meritorious students from camp participants get a Certificate of Merit and complimentary
books. The best 2 students from seniors and 3 students from juniors are selected
for special merit awards of Rs.5000/- each in the form of books and gifts. These
five students represent India at the International Astronomy Olympiad.
Stage IV - Training of Indian Teams for International Olympiads The selected Indian
teams undergo a rigorous training programme at HBCSE in theory and experiment. Stage
V - Participation in International Olympiads The 5-member student team, 2 teacher
leaders and one scientific observer constitute the delegation to represent India
at the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) The 4:member student team, 2 teacher
leaders and one scientific observer constitute the delegation to represent India
at the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) The 5-member student team, 2 teacher
leaders and one scientific observer constitute the delegation to represent India
at the International Astronomy Olympiad (IAO).
Olympiad in Informatics
The Indian Computing Olympiad is used to select the team of four students to represent
India at the International Olympiad for Informatics (IOI). The competition is held
in three stages: the Zonal Informatics Olympiad, the Indian National Olympiad in
Informatics, and the International Olympiad in Informatics Training Camp.
Stage I: The Zonal Informatics Olympiad (ZIO) is a written round. Most of the questions
can be solved with the use algorithmic techniques, although logic is usually enough.
Stage II: The Indian National Olympiad in Informatics (INOI) students have to write
programs on a computer. The INOI is a programming competition round. Students are
expected to solve two algorithmic problems in 3 hours in either C | C+ + or Pascal.
Questions in this round are similar to those in the IOI and other national computing
Olympiads. About thirty top-performing students in the INOI are selected for the
International Olympiad in Informatics Training Camp (IOITC).
Stage III: The International Olympiad in Informatics Training Camp (IOITC) is a
one fortnight long annual training camp held in India to select and train students
to represent India at the International Olympiad in Informatics. At the completion
of the camp, 4 students are selected to represent India at the International Olympiad
in Informatics.
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