ITMO International Physics Olympiad
Winners and runners-up are eligible for admission to field-specific programmes without entrance examinations.
ITMO University and St Petersburg State University jointly with other Russian universities will hold an International Online Olympiad in Physics. Russian-speaking schoolchildren in 7th - 11th grades from any country, well-versed in physics, maths and computer technology are welcome. The academic competition is particularly important to the applicants from the Commonwealth of Independent States and elsewhere who plan to take the Unified State Exam (EGE) to enter a Russian university. The Olympiad is unique in that it presents two kinds of problems. Candidates have to solve theoretical problems and run several physics experiments in a special virtual lab. Each participant is provided with a “set of tools” to decide which of them can be used to achieve the desired result. Nearly all problems can be solved in several ways.
The competition comprises the online and onsite stages. The online stage consists of two rounds. The first will be held from 28 November to 5 December 2019; the second on 18 - 25 January 2020. The points won in two rounds are summed up and the top scorers qualify for the finals. The onsite round will take place in Russian cities and Vietnam, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Cyprus. See the venue addresses on the Olympiad website. Those who wish to prepare for the competition, can test themselves in three drills. The first will take place from 1 October to 27 November 2019, the second from 10 December 2019 to 17 January 2020 and the third from 4 February to 16 March 2020. Prospective participants have to complete preliminary registration.
High schoolers in 10th - 11th grades who win the Olympiad are entittled to admission to ITMO University or SPbU undergraduate/specialist degree programmes in physics without entrance examinations. Applicants also have to prove their Olympiad results by scoring at least 75 points in physics, the only EGE test they have to take.
