Olympiad Exam 2021-22 - International Olympiad (IMO, IEO, NSO, IGKO, NCO, ICO)

Olympiads, also known as Olympiad exams, are a collection of competitive exams held for students through Classes 1 to 12. Olympiads are conducted on a national as well as international level and encourage students from a similar academic genre or level to participate. Olympiads, be on a national or international level, are deemed as one of the toughest exams to crack. The prestigious exams pave paths for school students to form a competitive mindset and also allows them to assess their knowledge and understanding of the particular subject matter among their peers. Olympiad award holders often are offered a competitive edge in terms of applying to higher courses of study. Besides the academic assessment and advantages, Olympiads also offers lucrative awards and scholarships adding an even more interesting spin to the competition. So, if you are looking for complete information on Olympiad exams.

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Objective of Olympiads

A number of Olympiad exams are conducted in India. Although each Olympiad exam has a fixed set of objectives, the overall objective of Olympiads include the following:

• To enhance the reasoning, skills and logical ability of the students participating in the same.

• To enable students to have an acute knowledge of the subject(s) for which the Olympiad exam is being conducted.

• To pique the interest of the participating students not only academically but on the events and happenings around the world.

• To ensure that students have a wholesome and all-round development while in school.

• To provide an opportunity for the students to have an insight into the higher studies curriculum and what the competitive exam scenario looks like on a national and international level.

Benefits of Olympiad Exams

Olympiad exams are very prestigious on their own and their benefits are numerous. To put it into words, the benefits of Olympiad exams can be summarised in the following manner:

• Students who partake in Olympiads know the value of in-depth understanding of facts and concepts involved, especially but not limited to Science and Mathematics Olympiad exams.

• Olympiad exams allow students to hone and refine their analytical and logical reasoning skills as the exam pattern is mostly focused on the same.

• A detailed assessment of a particular student’s strength as well as weaknesses is provided by the Olympiad exams. Students can realise their potential and also work on the areas where there is room for improvement.

• One of the important benefits of Olympiad exams is that they allow students to explore and apply the concepts that they have learnt in schools as a part of their academic curriculum. This allows students to be more confident when they approach higher courses of study.

• Given that, Olympiad is conducted both nationally and internationally, students can have an insight into the curriculum that their peers are pursuing on both levels. This ensures that students are able to optimise their ability to comprehend the subject matter and also work on the skills required to participate in such competitions.

• Olympiad exams offer a host of rewards and scholarships which can be of further aid to helping students to grow and nurture their abilities.

SOF's Olympiad - Eligibility

The eligibility for the Olympiads varies according to the type of exams students are applying for, the details of which are provided below.

• Students from Classes 1 to 12 are eligible to participate in the National Science Olympiad, conducted by the Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF) and the International Science Olympiad conducted by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education.

• For the International Mathematics Olympiad, National Cyber Olympiad and International English Olympiad conducted by the SOF, students from Classes 1 to 12 are eligible to apply.

• The SOF also conducts the International Commerce Olympiad for which students of Class 11 and 12 are eligible to apply.

• Students from Classes 1 to 10 are eligible to participate in the International General Knowledge Olympiad, also conducted by the Science Olympiad Foundation.

Eligibility for NSE/and Subsequent Stages:

1. The candidate must be eligible to have an Indian Passport.

2. The students having a date of birth between 1 July 2000 and 30 June 2005, both days inclusive will be eligible to write the exam.

3. Participating candidates must be residing in India since 30 November 2017 or earlier or must be studying in the Indian schooling and education system.

4. Also, the participating student must not have completed the class 12 board examination before 30 November 2019.

5. The last criteria ask students not to have started or planning to commence studies in the university or any institute by 1 June 2020.

6. Must not have commenced (or planning to commence) studies in a university or equivalent institution by 1 June 2020.

Eligibility Criteria for Junior Science Olympiads:

1. The candidate must be eligible to have an Indian Passport.

2. The students having a date of birth between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2006, both days inclusive will be eligible to write the exam.

3. Participating candidates must be residing in India since 30 November 2017 or earlier or must be studying in the Indian schooling and education system.

4. Also, the participating student must not have completed the class 10 board examination before 30 November 2019.

5. The last criteria ask students not to have started or planning to commence studies in the university or any institute by 1 June 2020.

6. Must not have commenced (or planning to commence) studies in a university or equivalent institution by 1 June 2020.

Note: If any student at a later stage found that he/she doesn’t meet the eligibility criteria then he/she may get disqualification from the program.

SOF Olympiad Syllabus

The syllabus for the Olympiad exams caters to the subject applied for and also focuses on additional requirements. Some of the key highlights of the syllabus for the Olympiad exams are:

• For a particular subject, a student appearing from a particular Class needs to be thorough with the academic syllabus for the same.

• The Olympiad syllabus does not recommend sticking to the curriculum of one particular Board, instead, students are advised to follow the curriculum of other Board’s as well to broaden their knowledge base and spectrum.

• Students must have a clear conceptual understanding of the subject matter included in the Olympiad syllabus to attempt a maximum number of questions in the exam.

• Practising as many questions as possible will help students to have a better grasp of the syllabus for the Olympiad exams.

The Olympiad exam pattern helps the participating students to have an insight into the different sections and the number of questions from different sections that will be asked in the exam pattern. Aspirants can get a glimpse of the Olympiad exam pattern in detail here.

Syllabus For IAPT Olympiads

SOF Olympiad Exam Pattern

The exam dates for the Olympiads are released by the conducting body. Students who are interested in participating in the different Olympiad exams must keep a tab on the exam dates so as to not miss out on any exam or deadlines. The usual exam calendar for the Olympiads is provided here. Students must note that the conducting body may change the exam dates catering to various situations. It is thus advisable for the candidates to keep visiting this page to stay updated on the Olympiad exam dates.

Exam Pattern For IAPT Olympiads

Although the examination pattern is the carbon copy of the CBSE syllabus to a very much extent. However, the marking pattern of IAPT exams is different from CBSE.

• 80 MCQs

• Medium-English & Hindi 

• Negative marking is present

SOF Olympiads 2021-22 - Exam Dates

IAPT Olympiads 2022 - Exam Dates (Tentative)

 Exam Dates: KVPY and Junior Olympiads

SOF Olympiad - How to Apply

All the eligible candidates interested in appearing for Olympiads are required to complete the application process. Here’s how to apply for the Olympiad exams.

• For the schools registered with the Science Olympiad Foundation, prospectus inclusive of the registration forms are sent to the respective schools. Students can then collect these forms from the schools.

• Prospectus can also be requested by the schools not registered with SOF by contacting the foundation either via email at info@sofworld.org or through phone at 0124-4951200.

• Interested students are required to duly fill in the application form and submit the same to their school.

• Schools are then required to forward the duly filled in application forms to SOF within the prescribed date.

• An application fee has also to be paid along with the application form by the students. The details of the application fee are as under:

• For schools in India, the registration fee is INR 125 (inclusive of GST) per student.

• For international schools, the registration fee to be paid is USD 9.

• Additionally, schools may charge USD 1 (for international schools)/INR 25 (for schools in India) per student as a fee towards remuneration for teachers, an honorarium of incharge, usage of the study material provided by SOF as a guide and other miscellaneous expenses.

SOF Olympiad - Awards

A host of Olympiad awards are given out in the different categories of the exams. Depending on the rank achieved by the students, the students, as well as the schools, are awarded. Get the details of the various Olympiad awards provided in the table below.

SOF Olympiad Awards at the International Level

Awards at the Zonal Level

For two or more students achieving the same rank, the cash award in the category applicable will be distributed in the given manner.

• In case the same rank is obtained by up to 5 students, the amount of the award will be equally distributed.

• In the case where 6 or more students have obtained the same rank, each winner will be awarded a gift worth INR 1000 in lieu of cash.

In addition to the awards, a number of scholarships are also available for students who qualify the Olympiad exams. These include:

Girl Child Scholarship Scheme (GCSS): A scholarship of INR 5000 each to 300 academically inclined girl students in India belonging to economically disadvantaged families.

Scholarship for Excellence in English (SEE): A certificate of merit awarded to 120 Indian students who exhibit excellence in the English language.

SOF – Academic Excellence Scholarship (AES): 208 students between Classes 3 to 10 are awarded a trophy. The AES is presented to the student who manages to score the highest marks in four Olympiad exams during the year. Such winners are selected for all the 26 states or zones.

IAPT/HBCSE - Awards

IAPT or HBCSE olympiad awards are more about recognition and respect than any type of monetary value. HBCSE felicitate winners with certifications based on their performance in the different stages of their respective olympiad. The certificates for IAPT science olympiads are issued in association with the Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT), Mathematics Teachers Association (MTA), an association of Chemistry Teachers (ACT) and Association of Teachers in Biological Sciences (ATBS) to those students who have secured the highest percentile.

• National Standard Examination Certificates

• Indian National Olympiad (INO) Certificates

• IMO TC/ OCSC Certificates and Awards

• HBCSE Scholarships:  HBCSE awards gold, silver, and bronze medals and a cash prize of INR 5,000, INR 4,000, and INR 3,000, respectively. 

Other Benefits 

• If the students have cleared INMO and take maths as one of the subjects during their undergraduate, he/she will get a handsome scholarship, and it will be continued until they finish their PhD.

• One of the most enthralling awards is felicitated by Infosys foundation headed by Smt Murty to the Indian students who have made their country proud in the international olympiads. 

• Awardees decided by TIFR also get a cash prize of INR 15,000 to the medalists. 

Note

• No participation certificate is given to the students

• The cash prizes are awarded by the National Board for Higher Mathematics (NBHM) during a formal ceremony held at the end of the training camp next year.

Registration: IAPT Olympiad-2022

Enrollment From Your Own School/College: Contact your school/college principal to enrol for NSE. It is because IAPT/HBCSE contacts schools for the procedure of student enrollment.

Enrollment From Different Schools/Colleges: If your school/college is not an NSE registered centre, you can be registered through a nearby centre. The list of IAPT registered institutes will be available on the IAPT official website.

Enrollment Fees: Each student has to pay Rs. 150/- per subject to the NSE registration centre.