10th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2016

We invite young astronomy students from all countries of the world to come and participate in the International Olympiad in Astronomy and Astrophysics. It is an opportunity for pre-university students from various countries to meet and make friends with students with similar interest from all part of the world. At the last IOAA, participants from 41 countries came and spent 10 days together competing and interacting with each other. We hope to have more countries in India this year, when we host IOAA from 9 to 19 December 2016.

India is one of the oldest countries in the world with its prehistory going back to almost 2 million years. It housed one of the earliest large scale civilisation, the Harappan civilisation from 7000 to 2000 BC and has not looked back. It is home to some of the finest architecture in the world from Taj Mahal to the magnificent Sun Temple at Konark, which the participants to the Olympiad will visit.

India is also a vibrant democracy with a lot of interest and investments in pure sciences in general and astronomy in particular. Apart from several meter class astronomical telescopes, it hosts the world’s largest meter wave telescope and has recently launched a state of the art multi-wavelength astronomy telescope. We are hosting the 10th International Olympiad in Astronomy and Astrophysics as a part of our continuing tradition of encouraging young students to appreciate and enjoy the excitement of this oldest of pure sciences. The programme will also offer you an opportunity to meet Indian students beyond the participants through an active outreach programme associated with the event.

10th IOAA will be hosted in one of the most picturesque and ancient city of Bhubaneswar, which boasts of a rich tradition of religious architecture, art form and cuisine. The city of Bhubaneswar, is also the capital of the state of Odisha. The host institute will be National Institute for Science Education and Research (NISER).
For those of you who are new to the event, IOAA will comprise of three rounds i.e. theoretical test, observation test and data analysis test, whose total will count towards medals of participating students. In addition, there will also be a team competition to determine the best team. Detailed programme of the Olympiad will be announced later. Participants may note that as per the tentative schedule, opening ceremony of 10th IOAA will be held on the evening of 10th December and closing ceremony will be held on the evening of 18th December. If you would like to bring a team of students from your country, follow the instructions on the pre-registration page.
So do come to India and enjoy our hospitality, our cuisine and make friends from all over the world.
http://www.ioaa2016.in/