Indian Talent Olympiad and its entire team were proud to interact with Shri Kiran Kumar Sir, ISRO Former Chairman, and Padma Shree Recipient at ISRO headquarters, Bangalore. It is a moment of great satisfaction to have such a well-regarded personality speak highly of the work conducted by the Indian Talent Olympiad. Shri Kiran Kumar Sir appreciated the organization’s efforts and motivated the team to excel in its endeavors. Being a part of the Indian Space Research Organization, he himself is of the opinion that today’s children require to follow an inter-disciplinary approach in education. Gone are the days when students stuck to one particular field and continued their careers in that field. Today, the times have changed, and it is imperative for all students and youngsters to be flexible in their approach towards learning and self-development.
ISRO interacted with the team of Indian Talent Olympiad and answered many questions that are often in the minds of students. Some of them that he was asked, to which he very diligently answered are:
Q.1 What should be the approach and in what way should students prepare for getting into ISRO?
Ans: ISRO has work in all disciplines that include mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, computer science, maths, biology, zoology. In fact, there are people from different disciplines in ISRO because of the variety of activities that it conducts. It is not that only one discipline is important. So students must have a good understanding of subjects such as Maths, Science, English, Social Studies, and even Drawing.
Indian Talent Olympiad’s International Maths Olympiad (IMO), International Science Olympiad (ISO), and English International Olympiad (EIO) are some of the best exams to prepare for ISRO. These exams help students to prepare for the entrance exams that are conducted at national levels. ISRO is one such organization that runs the Indian Institute of Space Technology in Trivandrum. The institute holds entrance exams for all those interested to take up courses here. The entrance exams are conducted at national levels that makes it important for students to have a thorough understanding and a good command over the subject. Thus, students who are already exposed to the IMO or the ISO exam, stand a bright chance of scoring well in these entrance exams.
Q.2 More or less Maths and Science are the two important subjects when it comes to getting into ISRO. Can’t the government come up with a new subject called as Space Technology or introduce space studies in their academics, as it is one of the upcoming topics of today’s times?
The activities conducted by the Indian Institute of Space Technology in Trivandrum focuses on space studies. Here students are given exposure to all relevant topics with a focus on space technology. Other educationists can bring awareness at the school level or college level, but the courses themselves cannot be many. This is because the number of job aspirants who can be absorbed by ISRO is limited. The main idea is to make students understand, what is competition, how to compete, so that competition is held in an appropriate manner.
Olympiad exams are one way that teaches the actual meaning of competition. Indian Talent Olympiad is contributing to society by inviting lakhs of students to participate in Olympiads. Its model of online Olympiad is truly commendable. It gives students a lot of scopes to practice the entire year. I am truly happy that the Indian Talent Olympiad realizes the true aspect of competition. It ensures that knowledge is imparted to all, irrespective of students’ backgrounds. Awareness building is one of the key components of the competition. Through the monthly and Annual Olympiads, students will become aware of the struggle involved in today’s world. The earlier they are exposed to the fight, the better fighters they become in the future.
Q.3 There are many students who call our office and ask us, how do we get an entry to ISRO or Sriharikota. What do you want to say to such aspirants?
It is nice to know that through the medium of the Indian Talent Olympiad, you are spreading awareness in the field of education. We have an auditorium in Sriharikota, which has been set up, where almost 10,000 + people can come and witness the launch. The website of ISRO is regularly updated with information about where people can register so that they can come to Sriharikota on that particular day to witness the launch. They will then be taken to the auditorium and witness the launch. It has been planned to have a history of rockets and how they were launched for the visitors to see, read, and understand. Other than that, each ISRO center has museums where students can be taken and shown. Similarly, science museums managed by state and central government has space gallery where students can see. In Bangalore, Udupi Ramchandra Rao Satellite Center every year conducts a workshop in Kannda. Here the students of high schools are allowed to compete based on projects, write a report, and if their report is accepted they will be given the opportunity to present them and we show them the launch. Every year there is space week conducted in October, all centers provide opportunities to students to know more about the space program.
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHGPe00pM8M
Q.4 What is India’s position in space? The whole world is working on different aspects. Where are we right now compared to US, Russia etc.
India is the only country that started with a space program, not with military emphasis. All the other countries started their program with military intensions and defense activities. India was the first country, which actually started the whole program for reaping the benefits of space technology. For this, we need to compliment Dr. Vikram Sarabhai who is considered the father of the Indian Space Program. He is the same person who started various institutions such as the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad Textile Industrial Research Institute, National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, and later in other places in India. His idea was how to make use of space technology when Russians first put the Sputnik into orbit in 1957. While Americans and Russians were fighting amongst themselves to see who is more powerful, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai worked to think about how can we make use of space technology for bringing in societal benefits. Arthur Clark had also shown that a Geostationary satellite, which means a satellite, which is at a height of 36,000 km, takes exactly 24 hours to go around the orbit of the earth. He brought in the use of space technology. Today we are the few countries that have done end to end work on rocket development. We can develop our own rocket and receive data and upload them. We are on a mission, and once we complete that mission, we will be one of the four top countries to have achieved so much in space.
Q.5 How about incorporating space science as early as possible, maybe in junior high school or primary school?
NCERT is trying to bring in space science as part of the syllabus. It is planning to include some information that has happened in India in the space technology area, success stories, and, how is it used. Today, space technology is being used by more and more governments in their governance activities. That means they have come out with a project for example to improve water surface, water tables, check dams, check vegetation, etc. There are a host of activities that you can monitor using the satellite data. Many of these things can be showcased to the student community. So, efforts are on. Students are taught how the Chandrayaan Mission or the Mangalyaan Mission helps the country in terms of improving the science capability, how it brings more interest among the researchers. It is important to bring this awareness to the student community at large.
Indian Talent Olympiad’s exams impart practical awareness, which is required in today’s times. It is a very good initiative to imbibe practical knowledge among students. The monthly Olympiads for individual students or the annual Olympiads for schools at large are beneficial for all students from class 1 to class 10. The organization welcomes participants to participate as part of their school, or at individual levels.
Q.5 Few motivational words for toppers of Indian Talent Olympiad.
Disseminating information in different aspects is important, it may not be a particular discipline. Today, in all areas, an interdisciplinary approach is becoming common. The tools today make use of different disciplines going into observation. So students need to be told that the process of learning is more important. Unlike earlier days knowing one discipline is no longer enough. Today, all courses make people contribute to their actual work. Today, if students stick to only the knowledge that has been acquired, he/she won’t be able to apply relevant knowledge in a couple of years. There is a lot of transition, and people are required to keep learning. We have to teach students that the process of learning is more important than the content of learning. We don’t know what will be their problems, and how to address their problems. Teachers have to come up with new ways of making students learn.
I am really happy to learn what the Indian Talent Olympiad is doing. It is a human service and an opportunity to kindle among the youngsters, and students a process of being competitive but at the same time, the emphasis has to be to come across and tell participants that it is not alone the end result that matters, but the approach, the idea of competing, going through the process of learning, which is an equally important thing. In the world not only toppers matter, but each and every individual is important.
Such words coming in from Shri Kiran Kumar Sir is indeed motivating for the entire team. It is worth all the hard work put in by the team of Indian Talent Olympiad.
Register for Monthly Olympiads
https://www.indiantalent.org/olympiad-student-tests/
To participate in the Monthly Olympiads, please click the ‘Student test @ home’ section. Register for the upcoming exam and gain maximum information. The subjects in which students can participate in the monthly Olympiads are English, Maths, Science, GK, Essay, and Drawing. The monthly Olympiads are online tests that are conducted all throughout the year. It is one of the best ways to ensure revision throughout the year. Fill in all the required details on the registration page, pay the fees and get started. The fees are kept minimal so that maximum students can benefit from these exams. The monthly tests are scheduled for 30 minutes, in which students are asked 25 multiple-choice questions. These questions help students to focus on concepts and become thorough in all subjects.
Register for Annual Olympiads – School Registrations
https://www.indiantalent.org/olympiad-exam-registration
Indian Talent Olympiad has more than 33,000 schools that have registered for Annual Olympiads. All these schools motivate their students to participate in Annual Olympiads and win prizes for themselves and thus make the school proud. The Annual Olympiads are also conducted online. The duration of this exam is 45 minutes. The subjects for annual Olympiads are International Science Olympiad (ISO), International Maths Olympiad (IMO), English International Olympiad (EIO), General Knowledge International Olympiad (GKIO), International Computer Olympiad (ICO), National Essay Olympiad (NESO), International Drawing Olympiad (IDO), and National Social Studies Olympiad (NSSO) respectively. To register for the Annual Olympiads, schools can register themselves by clicking on the School Registration button on the home page. This would further take them to the school registration page, where they can fill in all required details. Schools can opt for online or offline registrations.
Individual Students Can Register for Annual Olympiads
https://www.indiantalent.org/Olympiad-exam-registration-student
If your school is not a part of the Indian Talent Olympiad’s exams, you can still be a part of us. To register individually, please click the button ‘Register Student Annual Olympiad’ on the home page. Fill in all your details, pay the fees, and get started with the Olympiad exams.
We are thankful to Shri Kiran Kumar Sir, for sparing his valuable time and encouraging the efforts of the Indian Talent Olympiad. His words are of great inspiration and motivation to the entire team of the Indian Talent Olympiad. We hope we continue to promote quality education through online Olympiads and encourage each and every student of the country to come out with flying colors. Our best wishes to all our participants!
For more details visit – https://www.indiantalent.org/
