Enhancing your aptitude through Olympiads for holistic development
Amit Vig
The only thing constant is Change, an apt saying that remains true forever. With the changing times, everything and everyone needs to change and adapt to changes. This is evident from the recommendations of the recently released National Education Policy 2020 (NEP). NEP 2020 aims to bring in radical changes to the Indian Education System with the aim to bring in Holistic Development.
Olympiads hence bring forth an opportunity to students to develop holistically as it involves students competing beyond the school curriculum.
Olympiads have become a popular academic competition that assists in the development of competitive spirit among school children. In the present times when the world is totally pivoted on Science, Mathematical Skills, and Linguistic Ability, it is pertinent to think and plan about the future in which the children of the present shall be the budding leaders of tomorrow. Regular qualitative and quantitative assessment needs to be done at the national/international level in order to build up the skills and talent pool. The current scenario not only Government exams but also exams of any academic institution check students on their aptitude. Some out of the regular olympiads for the students are:
1. Primary Olympiad (for Young Learners from Classes I – V): Being a perfect platform to test a student’s conceptual understanding of the subject, it also improves the problem-solving ability and develops analytical thinking. Providing an exposure at the national level, primary olympiads inculcate the quality of hard work in the students by pushing them to prepare hard for the exam and improve their result. The performance of students at school is also improved as it sharpens their thinking and learning process which helps them to grasp the concepts taught in schools better.
Primary Olympiad’s integrity and commitment towards the fulfillment of its objectives has been lauded by the team of schooling institutions across the country and thousands of students have directly benefited from its educative, informative and evaluative programs.
2. International Finance Olympiad (IFO) (for students from classes VIII to XII): International Institute of Financial Markets Limited is one of the leading education corporates that has been promoting financial literacy for students at school level for more than a decade. With the intent to make school students acquainted with the art of understanding and managing money, the International Financial Olympiad has been conducted annually for the past seven years.
The International Finance Olympiad was initially launched in alliance with National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), and the International Institute of Financial Markets (IIFM).
In the Span of 7 Years, IFO has catered to more than 48,000 students in 162 cities and 5 countries. Apart from having an association with over 1,000 schools in India, the team has also expanded internationally by incorporating several schools from Dubai, Qatar, Kuwait and Sharjah.
3. Global Economics Olympiad (class IX to XII): Global Economics Olympiad (GEO) is aimed at increasing the importance of Economics and tap the potential of young minds in a more optimum way and encourage the economist in them at the school level. This olympiad is open for students from class IX to XII.
Economics provides us the platform to weigh the world on the scales of logic and figures. Not only is economics strongly related to how the market works, but it also is majorly about human behavior. It is the need of the hour; this initiative is to make the students aware of the significance that economics as a subject holds and the need to be well-versed with a language that transcends boundaries.
4. Global Olympiad on Aptitude (GOA): This brings the students of Classes VIII to XII a niche offering with an international level competition. With the ever-evolving selection process of various companies, aptitude has become a major and important strategic tool for shortlisting candidates. So, it is not an exaggeration when we say that Aptitude Building is one of the most important things that a student needs at this hour.
— The writer is National Head Olympiads, IIFM Limited
