Competitive Exams (Grade 8-10) – Mindler Blogs to Read

Olympiads provide immense opportunities for young students to proactively prepare for the competitive exams in the school. Participation in an olympiad gives students’ the opportunity to develop their profile, understand their strengths and focus on key skills to understand the level of competition. The following article enlists all the National and International examinations that students can take up if they are studying in Grade 8-10 –
 

1. National Talent Search Examination (NTSE)
NTSE is a National-level exam conducted by NCERT to identify talented students and award them scholarships to pursue their further studies. This exam happens in two stages, NTSE Stage I being open to students who have scored more than 60% in Grade IX. Students who have cleared stage I can sit for NTSE at national level (Stage II). Scholarships are available for students in terms of stipend each month for Grade 11 & 12; Undergraduate & Postgraduate studies and PhD. This is one of the most reputed examinations in India.
 
2. National Level Science Talent Search Exam (NLSTSE)
In NSTSE, the emphasis for assessment of scholastic skills is mainly on Mathematics and Sciences. This examination shifts the focus from rote learning and memorizing to improving the fundamental concepts of the students. The NSTSE Topper is awarded upto Rs. 2,00,000 cash prize. The student who achieves the 1st rank and highest percentage of marks among all the classes is declared as NSTSE Topper. All the top rankers and achievers are awarded medals, certificates and lucrative prizes.
 
3. Indian National Olympiad (INO)
A target number of students are invited to the Orientation Cum Selection Camp of each subject. National Standard Examination in Junior Sciences for grade 8-10th is organized for students to enable them to judge their national ranking. The students in each subject are assigned a rank according to his/her performance. This helps students in catering to the appropriate knowledge of specific subjects as physics along with an opportunity to participate in an educational camp.
 
4. Science Olympiad Foundation
Science Olympiad Foundation recognizes prodigies in various subject domains such as Science, English, computer science, social studies, general knowledge, etc. Cash awards and gift prizes are given to top rankers based on their school, zonal, and international ranks. Along with this, students also get an opportunity to win scholarships for their academic achievements.
 
5. GeoGenius
The Geo Genius National Geography Olympiad is a three-level competition. The International Geography Olympiad (iGeo) has recognized Geo Genius India as India’s National Geography Competition. This enables the winners to represent India internationally. Awards and cash prizes are provided to each winner at each level. 
 
6. Silverzone Olympiads
There are numerous olympiads for instance related to STEM Innovation, science, math, informatics, reasoning & aptitude, hindi, social studies, etc. Each olympiad has a specific rank and award for the school students and institutions. Students securing top ranks at International level get cash prizes upto Rs. 10,000. 
 
7. National Interactive Maths Olympiad (NIMO)
NIMO (National Interactive Math Olympiad) enables students to utilize their knowledge and conceptual understanding to solve problems. It encourages students to engage in consistent thinking and reasoning and help them understand their strengths and weaknesses. There are three levels to this exam and the awards for the scholarship goes up to Rs. 50,000 for top International and National rankers. 
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8. National Biotechnology Olympiad (NBO)
This olympiad is as much about creating awareness about Biotechnology by bringing in an element of challenge and competition as about inspiring the younger generation to enhance their knowledge about Biotechnology issues and to test their aptitude for taking up a career in Biotechnology in future. Prizes worth 50 lakhs are awarded to students, teachers and principals.
This Olympiad focuses on creating awareness about Biotechnology as a career domain. It aims at inspiring students to enhance their understanding about Biotechnology, the issues pertaining to the same and the innovative areas for development. Prizes worth 50 lakhs are awarded to students, teachers and principals. 
 
9. Asset (Assessment of Scholastic Skills Through Educational Testing)
The exam gives a chance for academically gifted students to participate and win medals. The students get a chance to be part of the network of gifted students and participate in various national and international opportunities. Ei ATS is an advanced test that requires students to apply their conceptual understanding to answer thought-provoking questions.
 
10. The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO)
This Olympiad is the World Championship Mathematics Competition for students from age 14-18 and is held annually in a different country. The competition involves teams of up to 5-6 contestants working through 2 long math exams for 2 consecutive days, each exam being 4.5 hours long. The students are rewarded based on their performance in the olympiad.
 
11. International Assessment for Indian Schools (IAIS)
IAIS is an International student assessment service which helps students get in-depth and objective analysis of skills in their key learning areas. It brings light to the strengths and shortcomings of a student in core areas of English, science, mathematics, and computer sciences. The top-performing students in IAIS are awarded a University of New South Wales Gold medal and Macmillan medal based on regional rankings.
 
12. Indian Talent Olympiads (ITO)
Olympiad Exams organized by the Indian Talent Olympiad (ITO) are scholarship exams. Some of the subjects in which students can participate are the International Science Olympiad (ISO), International Maths Olympiad (IMO), English International Olympiad (EIO), General Knowledge International Olympiad (GKIO), International Computer Olympiad (ICO), International Drawing Olympiad (IDO), National Essay Olympiad (NESO), and National Social Studies Olympiad (NSSO). Students can participate in any or all of these subjects as per their choice. Cash Prize of up to 1,00,000 awarded to the top scorer at the National level, with various other rewards to other rankers (state and school level) 
 
13. Unified Council Olympiads
There are various olympiads organized for students by the Unified Council such as National Level Science Talent Search Examination as discussed above, and others being International Mathematics Olympiad, International English Olympiad, and Unified Cyber Olympiad. It is a very prestigious olympiad with exciting rewards for the winners.
 
14. Southeast Asian Mathematical Olympiad (SEAMO)
The olympiad is based on global rankings and participation of students from Southeast Asian countries. This is for students motivated to test their knowledge and skills in mathematics on a global platform. This exam has two levels- SEAMO & SEAMO X. The latter being open to the top 40% scorers in SEAMO. The students are given various awards and recognition based on their performance in the olympiad.
 
15. National Genius Search Examination (NGSE)
National Genius Search Examination (NGSE) is a scientifically devised assessment tool to locate genius among children.  This test emphasizes ownership of learning concepts, where students are encouraged to think creatively, ask questions, mold imaginations and logically come to solutions. Students from Grade IV to IX are eligible for this exam, and it happens in two phases: NGSE Mains and Advanced. The NGSE motivates the 100 percentile scorers to get National Genius Awards. 
 
16. IRIS National Fair
This competitive exam promotes and nurtures the STEM research enthusiasts through research based projects or novel engineering designs by participating at the IRIS National Fair. Students from Grade 5 to 12 are eligible, and they can choose their project from a pool of subjects including- animal sciences, behavioral sciences, biochemistry, microbiology, engineering, robotics, etc. The student’s project must be original in content and should be substantiated with data collected from experimentation, if appropriate  
 
17. Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan (VVM)
Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan (VVM) is an initiative of Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA), in collaboration withGovernment of India and NCERT. VVM is a national program with the aim of promoting  sciences among school students of standard VI to XI, in search of bright minds with a scientific aptitude.. The top two students from each class i.e. total of 12 students from each state will be invited to a two-day National Camp. National Camp (NC) will consist of Presentations, Activities to test Scientific Understanding, Innovation, Creativity, Out-of-Box Thinking and Assessment of Leadership Quality.
 
18. Green Olympiad
GREEN Olympiad, an Initiative by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), is a premier MCQ based examination on the environment and sustainable development and draws its linkage with the UN Decade of ESD and Global Action Programme (GAP).
 
19. Singapore & Asian Schools Math Olympiad (SASMO)
SASMO is one of the largest math contests in Asia. The aim of this Olympiad is also to arouse student’s interest in Mathematics and help them hone their critical thinking, logical reasoning and other high-order thinking skills. Perfect scorers will receive a $100 voucher and otherwise 40% will get certificates and Medals. 
 
20. World Wisdom Challenge by WWF
WWF in collaboration with CBSE organizes a global challenge for all the young minds and is the biggest wildlife contest in the World. There are different themes every year, students have to prepare accordingly. The exam has 5 levels from classroom, school to state, national and International.Students from grade VI to IX are eligible for this competition. 
 
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