Olympiad Exam 2023-24 - International Olympiad (IMO, IEO, NSO, IGKO, NCO, ICO)

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 Classes 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 have a date of birth between 1 July 1998 and 30 June 2003, 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 2021.

5. The last criterion asks students not to have started or planning to commence studies in the university or any institute by 2022.

6. Must not have commenced (or planning to commence) studies in a university or equivalent institution by 2022.

Eligibility Criteria for Junior Science Olympiads

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

2. Candidates must be in grade 10 and below from any school board like state, ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education), CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education).

3. Candidates must not have completed their board exams before November 2022 to appear in the National Standard Examination In Junior Science for the year 2022.

SOF Olympiad Syllabus

The table given below contains the complete syllabus of the SOF olympiad of 2023.

Syllabus for IAPT

The detailed syllabus of IAPT is given in the table below.

SOF Olympiad Exam Pattern

The table mentioned below provides the complete SOF Olympiad Exam Pattern.

IAPT Olympiads Exam Pattern 

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

• The IAPT question papers will be  of216 marks.

• The exam duration will be 2 hours.

• There will be a negative marking of -1 mark for every wrong attempt.

• The questions will be Objective type questions.

• There will be 60 multiple choice questions asked in the exam.

• The medium of the exam will be both English and Hindi.

How to Apply for the SOF Olympiad?

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 the in-charge, 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 cash.

In addition to the awards, several scholarships are also available for students who qualify for 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 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. 

Registration: IAPT Olympiad 2022-2023

• 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.

This was the complete discussion on the important dates, eligibility, exam pattern, registration and awards of olympiad examinations. We hope to have helped with your queries. Keep on checking the official website to get the latest updates on the examinations.