Prove your mathematical prowess

Updated on: Tuesday, September 22, 2009

The Regional Mathematical Olympiad, RMO-2009, will be conducted in Kerala on November 29 at Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Adoor, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Irinjalakkuda, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kannur and Kasaragod.

The Olympiad provides students with an opportunity to prove their mathematical prowess at different levels; the best participants move on to represent the country in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). It is organised globally to spot talented students who have the capacity for original and critical thinking.

Students of class XI/XII and ‘exceptionally talented’ students of class X are eligible to appear for it. There is no prescribed syllabus. But questions, roughly of the Plus Two level, will usually cover algebra, geometry, number theory and combinatorics and “be of exceptionally high level in difficulty and sophistication.” It will be conducted between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. and proposals for new centres will be considered, stated RMO regional co-ordinator A. Vijayakumar. Old question papers can be downloaded from the following website: www.hbcse.tifr.res.in

/olympiads.

In India, it is the National Board for Higher Mathematics (NBHM) that has been conducting the Olympiad since 1988. The Regional Mathematical Olympiad (RMO) is usually held during October-December in 18 regions and the Indian National Mathematical Olympiad (INMO) in February. A training camp is organised during May or June to select a six-member team to the IMO, which usually takes place in July in different countries.

About 20 students (maximum of six from class XII) will be selected for INMO, scheduled for January 2010 at the Cochin University Campus. And about 30 toppers and awardees of INMO will be invited for a training camp to be held in May, 2010 to select the Indian team for IMO-2010.

At the regional level, the following awards and scholarships are in the offing:

•Five toppers of RMO will be awarded a cash prize of Rs.2000 each, sponsored by the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment.

•Five toppers of RMO will be awarded Professor C.S. Venkataraman Memorial Prizes.

•All students selected for INMO will be given merit certificates.

•INMO awardees are eligible for NBHM scholarships for higher studies.

There is no prescribed application form. Principals of government recognised schools can forward a list of participants with details such as their names, class, residential addresses, and the chosen centre, along with a registration fee of Rs.30 each, to the regional co-ordinator.

The fee can be remitted in cash/money order or D.D. (drawn in favour of regional co-ordinator, INMO) payable at SBT CUSAT campus branch.
Last date

Applications that do not have the endorsement of the authorities will not be considered. The last date is October 15.

Further details can be had from A. Vijayakumar; Regional Co-ordinator, INMO; Department of Mathematics; Cochin University of Science and Technology; phone: 0484 - 2577518, 2862464 (office); email: [email protected]

Prove your mathematical prowess

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