The Mathematical Olympiads

What is a Mathematical Olympiad?

A Mathematical Olympiad is a problem solving competition open to all "mathletes". The aim of the competition is to test innate problem solving skills. The problems are restricted to those that require minimal background and high ingenuity. Since one of the goals of such olympiads is to identify talent at a young age, these olympiads are usually restricted to students not yet admitted to any undergraduate programme.

International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO)

The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is the World Championship Mathematics Competition for High School students and is held annually in a different country. The first IMO was held in 1959 in Romania, with 7 countries participating. It has gradually expanded to over 100 countries from 5 continents. IMO 2011 was held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. IMO 2012 will be held in Argentina.

India has been participating in the IMO since 1989. The 6-member Indian team for the IMO is selected through a three-step procedure, organised by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE) on behalf of the National Board for Higher Mathematics (NBHM) and funded by the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India.

A RMOTC was organized at ISI, Kolkata during June 7-10, 2011.
We plan to hold similar camps at ISI, Kolkata during the summer vacation every year. Please contact Mrinal Nandi (mrinal.nandi1@gmail.com) for details and to enroll.
Another camp took place at North Bengal University during 7-9 September 2011.
JBNSTS organized another camp during 18-22 October.
Another camp took place at IIT Kharagpur during November 2011.
We are trying to arrange similar camps elsewhere too. Any help in this regard is welcome!

We plan to hold a RMOTC at ISI, Kolkata during during May 28-June 1, 2012. Please contact us (rmo@isical.ac.in) or Mrinal Nandi (mrinal.nandi1@gmail.com) for details and to enroll. Participation fee : Rs 500/-.
Since we can at most accommodate 50-60 participants, preference will be given to those who have shown some potential in RMO 2011 (list here) or are from schools with hardly any prior experience in RMO. For out-station participants, JBNSTS has kindly agreed to arrange accomodation.
Another camp is being planned at North Bengal University in June 2012.
The Regional Mathematical Olympiad is a state level examination, a stepping stone towards the national level examination, the INMO.
A INMOTC is organized at ISI, Kolkata  every year  during the last week of December. All RMO awardees are invited. 

We are happy to announce the establishment of Mukul Chaudhuri Memorial Prize for the best girl student from each Class VIII to XII, irrespective of whether they are selected for INMO or not, provided they score a minimum qualifying marks. The Prize, in form of books, is made possible by a generous gift from Professor Soma Chaudhuri of Iowa State University, in the memory of her mother.
Mukul Chaudhuri (1922 - 2007) was a talented student of mathematics. She received the Kirtichand-Mackenzie Memorial Gold Medal in 1938, awarded to the candidate with the highest marks in mathematics in the Calcutta University Matriculation Exam. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Mathematics in 1942. However her academic career was cut short due to the political situation at the time (Partition of India). She became a school teacher in mathematics and taught in a variety of schools, both in India and abroad. Even though she couldn't further her own academic career, she encouraged numerous girls to pursue higher education in mathematics-related disciplines.

  • How does one prepare?
    • RMO-1990, RMO-1991, RMO-1992, RMO-1993, RMO-1994, RMO-1995, RMO-1996, RMO-1997, RMO-1998, RMO-1999, RMO-2000, RMO-2001, RMO-2002, RMO-2003, RMO-2004, RMO-2005, RMO-2006, RMO-2007.
    INMO-1989, INMO-1990, INMO-1991, INMO-1992, INMO-1993, INMO-1994, INMO-1995, INMO-1996, INMO-1997, INMO-1998, INMO-1999, INMO-2000, INMO-2001, INMO-2002, INMO-2003, INMO-2004, INMO-2005, INMO-2006, INMO-2007, INMO-2008.