Olympiad- Objectives, Eligibility, Benefits, Application process and more

Exams are conducted to test out a student’s ability and knowledge. Students get graded according to the scores they get on the test, some ace it while others don’t. This depends on the capacity of the individual. However, not all the exams are conducted for the sake of promoting a class, some exams are simply conducted by organisations for scholarships or as a competition. While these exams seem fun, they are equally as hard to ace. Olympiad is one such exam conducted for schools all across the globe. The preparation is as easy as a google search. Consider a 9th class student googling IMO Sample Paper 2 with Answers For Class 9, he/she can easily prepare for IMO within a click of a button.

Olympiad exams are conducted by a non-profit organisation known as Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF). SOF does conduct exams for other subjects also, regardless of its name.  These are the following examinations conducted by the Science Olympiad Foundation.

1. National Science Olympiad (NSO)
2. International Math Olympiad (IMO)
3. International English Olympiad (IEO) 
4. National Cyber Olympiad (NCO) 
5. International Company Secretaries Olympiad (ICSO)
6. International General Knowledge Olympiad (IGKO)

What are the Objectives of the Olympiad Exams? 

Science Olympiad Foundation conducts a total of six olympiad exams of six different subjects, respectively. Each subject has their objective for conducting olympiad exams and they all differ from each other. 

1. National Science Olympiad (NSO): caters to the development of scientific reasoning and logical thinking among the candidates that are attending the exam. 
2. International Company Secretaries Olympiad (ICSO): cater to prepare students for higher entrance examinations, by putting their knowledge in basic economics, business studies, accountancy and quantitative analysis reasoning through this exam. 
3. International English Olympiad (IEO): caters to help students with English learning like improving regular grammar, punctuation etc. Development of regular English usage in a student’s daily life. 
4. National Cyber Olympiad (NCO): these exams help students with cyber-related topics and concepts since the cyber industry is growing and expanding day by day. 
5. International General Knowledge Olympiad (IGKO): help develop the student’s interest in Basic General Knowledge, current affairs etc. This helps to involve students with extensive development. 
6. International Math Olympiad (IMO): caters to the development of students’ math solving skills and logical math reasoning, even basic math concepts. 

What are the Benefits of participating in various Olympiads? 

Olympiad has various benefits from developing skills used in academics to general skills. These exams are conducted for students from primary level to the high school level, which is what makes olympiads so amazing because every age group gets to participate in their field of interest. Since these exams target every candidate be it national or international, the questions range into a wide variety and are not just related to a particular topic or affair. These are the following benefits of olympiads : 

1. Reasoning skills can easily be built by these olympiad exams. 
2. Candidates can find their potential and figure out their weaknesses and strengths. 
3. Students can realise how well they can understand a particular concept or a topic. 
4. The Olympiad gives students more exposure than a normal exam because of the involvement of both international and national candidates. 
5. The majority of questions asked in Olympiad exams are mostly from topics taught in a regular class, it helps in grasping the concepts more firmly. 

So, these are the benefits of the olympiad exams, in addition to this olympiads also help in creating a better resume or can expose participants to a lot of good opportunities. 

Eligibility Criteria to appear in an Olympiad Exam: 

The olympiads for each subject is separate for all subjects and only allows a particular set of students to write the olympiad. All the exams under Science Olympiad Foundation like National Science Olympiad(NSO), International English Olympiad (IEO), National Cyber Olympiad (NCO), International Company Secretaries Olympiad (ICSO) and International General Knowledge Olympiad (IGKO). They all allow candidates mainly from class 1st to class 12th. In other words, the eligibility criteria only students of primary school, middle school and high school are allowed to participate in the SOF Olympiads. College students or undergraduates are not allowed. 

Application Process for Olympiad : 

Certain steps are taken to apply to participate in the SOF Olympiads. The steps are as follows: 

1. The registration process is generally the school faculty. Online registration does not occur in the case of olympiads, unlike other exams. A prospectus with registration forms is sent to different schools. The teacher who is in charge of the SOF Registration forms notifies every student about the olympiad exam and application forms are given to those who are interested in participating. 
2. Each school has to register with the Science Olympiad Foundation, otherwise, the prospectus is not sent. To register with Science Olympiad Foundation, the school must contact SOF through call (0124-4951200) or email ([email protected]). 
3. Students are asked to fill in all the necessary details in the registration form with the correct details and submit it to their respective schools. 
4. The school must submit all the registration forms filled by the students to Science Olympiad Foundation before the submission date. 
5. Applicants also need to pay a certain amount of the examination fee to participate in the examination. 

• For schools in India, the registration fee is INR 125 (including GST) per student and per subject. 
• For Schools abroad or international students, the registration fee of USD 9 is charged per student. 

Important Dates 

Exam dates for all the SOF Subjects are as follows : 

1. November to December – National Science Olympiad (NSO)
2. International Math Olympiad (IMO) – December to January 
3. International English Olympiad (IEO) – October to November 
4. National Cyber Olympiad (NCO) – January 
5. International Company Secretaries Olympiad (ICSO) – December to January 
6. International General Knowledge Olympiad (IGKO) – October to November 

It should be noted that these dates are not fixed, the changes in the exam dates must be notified by the respective school faculty. 

What are the incentives of the Olympiad exams : 

Students participating in the Olympiad exams are offered incentives or awards based on the rank they achieve. The award or incentives given for different subjects are as follows:

1. National Science Olympiad (NSO) – Certificate for excellent performance, Gold medal, and cash prize up to INR 50,000. 
2. International Math Olympiad (IMO) – Certificate for excellent performance, Gold medal, and cash prize up to INR 50,000. 
3. International English Olympiad (IEO) – Certificate for excellent performance, Gold medal, and cash prize up to INR 50,000. 
4. National Cyber Olympiad (NCO) – Certificate for excellent performance, Gold medal, and cash prize up to INR 50,000. 
5. International Company Secretaries Olympiad (ICSO) – Certificate for excellent performance, Gold medal, and cash prize up to INR 50,000. 
6. International General Knowledge Olympiad (IGKO) – Certificate for excellent performance, Gold medal, and cash prize up to INR 50,000. 

Conclusion 

Olympiad is a great way to expand your knowledge and every student must experience this once in their school life.