Olympiads beckon students

Kochi: The season of Olympiads is here once again and various organizations in the country are conducting them in different subjects including science, maths, space, sports and others offering exciting prizes to the school students. Children too are excited to participate in these competitions which last almost till December-January before the final school exams approach.

Regional Mathematical Olympiad sponsored by the National Board for Higher Mathematics (NBHM) and coordinated by Mathematics Department of Cochin University of Science And Technology (Cusat) is scheduled to be held on October 9 at various centres in  Kerala. Students of Standards X and XI only are eligible to apply. Last date of application is September 5.

“Toppers are eligible for various prizes, scholarships, followup programmes etc. Indian National Math Olympiad will be held on January 15 at CUSAT and International Math Olympiad in Brazil in July 2017. Details can be obtained at vambat@gmail.com,” said Dr. Ambat Vijayakumar, Regional Coordinator, INMO.
Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education is the nodal centre in the country for Olympiad programmes in mathematics and sciences including astronomy.

The programmes aim at promoting excellence in science and mathematics among pre-university students. The Olympiad programmes in  physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy (junior and senior level) and junior science are a five stage process for each subject separately. The first stage for each subject is organized by the Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT). All the remaining stages are organized by Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE).

The programme is financially supported by Government of India, in particular, by Board of Nuclear Sciences (Department of Atomic Energy), Department of Science and Technology, Department of Space and Ministry of Human Resource Development. (For details http://olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in/) Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI) faculty coordinates the training and selection of students to represent India at the International Olympiad in Informatics through the Indian Association for Research in Computing Science (IARCS). (For details http://www.iarcs.org.in/inoi/current.php) International Earth Science Olympiad is another one for secondary school students.

The main aims of the IESO are to encourage students’ interest and public awareness of earth science and to enhance earth sciences learning and to enhance earth science teaching/learning at school level.

The Geological Society of India is the body responsible for selecting the Indian team for the International Earth Science Olympiad. So far, the Earth Science Olympiad program in the country involved four stages: (i) National level Entrance Test, (ii) Training Camp culminating in the Indian National Earth Science Olympiad, (iii) Pre-departure training camp and (iv) International Earth Science Olympiad. 

The IESO is supported by the Ministry of Earth Science (MoES), Government of India, as one of its outreach programme for promotion of Earth Science. (For details visit http://www.geosocindia.org/index.php/ieso/index).

The Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF) based at Gurgaon which claims as the organizer of the biggest Olympiad exams in the world for school students, too is ready to host half a dozen Olympiads in the coming months. The Edu Mithra Intellectual Services Pvt. Ltd based at Kochi is to host a Space Olympiad as well.

The SOF claims offering scholarships & awards worth approximately ' 14 crore. The organization says that for the academic year 2015-16, more than 34000 schools from 22 countries registered with it and millions of students appeared in the four Olympiad exams organized in the year.

SOF, an NGO, working in the education field for the past over 20 years, has been conducting Olympiads in Computers (Cyber), Science, Mathematics and English for students from Class I to XII.

“Our Olympiads are conducted in partnership with world renowned organizations including Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of Indian through The Institute of Company Secretaries, Star Sports and The British Council,” says its co-ordinator K P Ravi Varma.

“Each participating student gets a participation certificate & a subject-wise performance report analyzing her/his performance, strengths & weaknesses and comparison of performance with students across the city, state and country. 

Performance report for each school comparing its performance with thousands of other schools across vital parameters is also given. Over 8 lakh scholarships awards are given including awards to class toppers, state toppers and international toppers,” he says.

This year the organization has added two more Olympiads, the International Sports Knowledge Olympiad and International Companies Secretaries Olympiad., the latter only for Class 11 and 12 students. Registration fee per student/Olympiad is  120/.

Out of this the school can retain Rs 20/. The last date for registration is August 31. (For more information, visit http://www.sofworld.org or write to priyanka@sofworld.org)

In the third season International Space Olympiad 2016-17 (ISO2016-17), an international level quiz competition on space science and technology, for students of Class 5-12 to enhance aptitude of children in Space Science & Technology, the winners will get an opportunity to visit NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, USA) as the grand prize and there are much more exciting rewards in each level, said the organisers.

The competition conducted under three different categories namely juniors (for students of grades 5-7), seniors (for students of grades 8-10), super seniors (for students of grades 11-12). For details www.internationalspaceolympiad.com.