It is a dream of every student to be amongst top students of the country. International Science olympiad conducted by HBCSE is one such way to achieve that.The process of selection of students to represent India in the International Olympiad is a grand process comprising of five successive stages. These are:
National Standard Examination (NSE) – Stage 1
All Indian students who are born on or after July 1, 1996 and, in addition, are in Class XII or lower as of November 30, 2015, are eligible to appear for NSEB, NSEC and NSEP 2015-2016. If they qualify in NSEB/NSEC/NSEP they will be eligible for the next stage leading to participation in International Olympiads for Biology (B), Chemistry (C) and Physics (P) in 2016, respectively.
The syllabus for NSEs in Biology, Chemistry and Physics is broadly equivalent to the senior secondary level (up to and including Class XII) of CBSE.
Your school may or may not be a registered centre. If yes, enrol your name by paying the required fees (Rs. 100) by the due date (15th September, 2015 for 2015-16 participants). Due date will be around the same time every year.
If your school/college is not a Registered NSE Centre, you can find a nearby Registered NSE Centre for enrolment. List of centres for the year 2015 here. There may be a few additions/deletions in the list of centres during the current year. Person of Contact in case of any enrolment queries is Chief coordinator of IAPT examinations.
Indian National Olympiad Examinations – Stage 2
Total participants for this stage has to be 300 which is achieved after first stage based on robust eligibility criterion. Total number of students to be selected for Stage 3 is announced before INO exams. In case of a tie, all the students with the tied scores are selected. These are 2 to 3 weeks long.
Syllabus for INO is again broadly equivalent to senior secondary level of CBSE in the respective subject. However, questions asked at this stage are of a much higher difficulty level.
Orientation-Cum-Selection Camps – Stage 3
Based on performance in INO examinations, students are invited to OCSC at HBCSE in Mumbai.
In OCSCs, distinguished scientists are invited to speak to the students. Students are given orientations on theoretical & (majorly) experimental aspects of their subjects. Based on these, the camps conduct several theoretical & experimental tests. Top 5 students in Physics & Top 4 students each in Chemistry & Biology are selected as special merit awardees in respective subjects and rewarded with Books & Cash. These special merit awardees form the Indian Team for International Olympiad.
Important Stuff regarding OCSC
Dates for OCSC are announced on the official website of HBCSE sometime around mid-January.
Special care is taken that dates of OCSCs do not overlap with IITJEE/AIIMS or any other exams. In case of a possible overlap, kindly select Mumbai as your centre.
Participants should hold a valid Indian passport as per VISA regulation policies of the Host country, before the OCSC beginning.
Training of Indian teams for International Olympiads at HBCSE – Stage 4
The selected Indian teams undergo a rigorous training programme at HBCSE in theory and experiment and in case of astronomy, observational astronomy. Special laboratories have been developed in HBCSE for this purpose. Resource persons from different institutions across the country are invited to the training camps. As per International Olympiad statutes, the training in Chemistry and Biology is limited to two weeks duration. In Physics the training may be longer.
Participation in the International Olympiad – Stage 5
Physics team should have 5 students and 2 Teachers (or Leaders). Both Biology & Chemistry team comprise of 4 students and 2 teachers. These teams are selected based on the previous stages.
Generally a guest team of 5 members is also invited to be a part of the International Olympiads. This team is generally from the nation holding Olympiad.
