Olympiad exams are nationwide or international level competitive exams where students from different schools & boards compete with other students on a similar education level. These exams are primarily to promote learning in the same subjects included in their school curriculum i.e., CBSE, ICSE, and other recognized state boards syllabus such as Mathematics, Science, Computer Technology or English Language, etc.
These exams are conducted both online & offline. It helps students access their knowledge skills in these subjects. Based on their performance in the exams, students get an opportunity to analyze as well as improve their academic scores. The participants are judged based on their scientific reasoning and logical abilities.
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Olympiads provide participating candidates with an exposure to the competitive world to hone their learning skills on national or international levels. Such exams play an important role in evaluating students’ performance with their peers across the country. The question paper is objective-type with multiple-choice questions. Besides, it builds self-confidence and motivates them to promote concept-based learning and logical thinking. Not only this, the winner gets various rewards and medals at each stage of the Olympiad exams.
These exams are conducted by various government or private organizations across India and abroad for the students of Classes 1 to 12. Some of the popular Olympiad exams conducting authorities in India are as follows:
Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF)
CREST Olympiads (Online Olympiad Exams)
Unicus Olympiads (Summer Olympiad Exams)
ASSET Educational Initiatives
Homi Bhabha Center for Science Education (HBCSE)
Indian Talent Olympiad (ITO)
Humming Bird Education
Eduheal Foundation
Silver Zone Foundation
Unified Council
It conducts Olympiad exams in these following subjects students can choose from as per their interest. The types of Olympiad exams conducted by ITO are as follows:
International Science Olympiad (ISO)
International Math Olympiad (IMO)
English International Olympiad (EIO)
General Knowledge International Olympiad (GKIO)
International Computer Olympiad (ICO)
International Drawing Olympiad (IDO)
National Essay Olympiad (NESO)
National Social Studies Olympiad (NSSO)
SOF is a non-profit organization focused on promoting scientific intelligence among students. It conducts these following exams:
National Science Olympiad (NSO)
National Cyber Olympiad (NCO)
International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO)
International English Olympiad (IEO)
International Company Secretaries Olympiad (ICSO)
International General Knowledge Olympiad (IGKO)
Olympiad exams are extremely beneficial for the students of classes 1 to 12. Apart from brushing up on students’ subjective knowledge, Olympiad exams can help students in several ways.
Concept Clarity - Olympiad exams are all about getting the concepts right & clear to inculcate quality education in the students. It is only the concepts that make students capable of handling a variety of questions.
Analytical & Problem-solving Skills - Olympiad exams require students to think differently. Ultimately, it helps students develop a set of skills and improves their aptitude.
Improves Academic Performance - Students’ performance in school is also improved as these exams hone their thinking & learning levels which helps them to grasp the concept better.
Prepares For Other Competitions - Olympiad exams also prepare students for future competitive exams by giving them early exposure and subjective-learning through. It becomes easy for the students in the future as they have already attempted these exams before.
Improves Reasoning Ability - The subjects in the exams include logical reasoning as one of the important subjects. It allows students to use their skills in a variety of questions like number series, alphabet sequences, blood relations, diagrams, and many more.
Additional Knowledge Source - Workbooks provided by the Indian Talent Olympiad consist of relevant information & questions from the school syllabus. It allows students an extra edge to learn topics taught in class as well as promotes self-learning.
Profile Building - Last but not least, the winning students are awarded cash awards, medals, gifts, certificates, and lots of recognition. These achievements are added to their academic goals.
Objectives & Importance of Olympiad exams varies subject to subject. Although the overall agenda is to nourish students’ skills in various topics & subjects, other objectives are here as follows:
Promoting scientific reasoning & logical ability among students.
Analyzing their knowledge of cyber concepts and information technology.
Testing students’ mathematical, calculative, and arithmetic skills.
Enhancing language & creative capabilities.
Polishing skills in writing, grammar and sentence phrasing, etc.
Olympiad exams are open to all students from class 1 to class 12. All the eligible candidates can follow these steps to apply for the exam:
Log in to the official website of the conducting authority ie. ITO or SOF.
Find the Student Registration Option to register
Fill up the details such as Student Name, Parent Name, Email ID, School Name, Standard, Address, Password, etc.
Select your subjects and opt for 3 Months, 6 Months, or the 1 Year Package
Once the registration is complete, a message will be sent from the authority. You can access necessary information from the site.
There are no minimum marks required or specific criteria by the Olympiad conducting organization to apply for the exam. All boards, namely, the State Board, CBSE, and ICSE boards are welcome to take the exam.
Students who are selected for the Olympiad exams can prepare from the school curriculum, as the subject topics are almost the same. However, Logical Reasoning is an important subject of all Olympiads.
Indian Talent Olympiad welcomes students from Classes 1 to 10 while Science Olympiad Foundation also accepts students from Classes 1 to 12. Olympiad conducting organizations believe that students from all age groups must take part in these competitive exams to recognize their weaknesses & strengths which will help them in the long run. Thereby, students aged between 3 and 6 years can participate in National Kindergarten Drawing Olympiad (NKDO) and the National Kindergarten Handwriting Olympiad (NKHO). Subjects in the exams are the same as being taught in the schools.
Students as well as schools participating in these exams are awarded with several recognitions based on the marks they score. Here they are as follows:
Taking all these above-mentioned benefits of Olympiads into consideration, it is advised that all students must participate in these exams to keep their zeal for learning alive and to get an opportunity to present his/her state or country at National and International level.
1. How are the students ranked in the Olympiad exams?
The participants are judged on the basis of marks achieved by them in the exam. After the result declaration, students are given a Student Performance Report (SPR).
2. How can students get to know about Olympiad dates?
Students can gather the necessary information from the official website of Olympiads organizing authority.
3. What is the syllabus for Olympiads?
The questions in the Olympiad exams are asked from the syllabus prescribed by the CBSE, ICSE and various state boards.