Media release

Mangaluru, Jun 17:  Muralidhar Rao, a student at the Centre for Advanced Learning (CFAL) here has cleared the prestigious second stage of the International Mathematics Olympiads 2022 and International Astronomy Olympiad 2022.

Muralidhar is the only student selected from Mangaluru for both INMO 2022 & INAO 2022. Muralidhar is the son of Harini G Rao and Gopikrishnan Rao. Every year selected students are eligible to attend a four-week Orientation cum Selection Camp (OCSC) at Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education and Research in Mumbai, where the final international team gets selected.

This year, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the camp wasn’t held and based on aggregate scores in INMO, six students were selected to represent India at the International Olympiads.

Muralidhar has scored 27 points out of 40 points in the Indian Olympiad Qualifier in Mathematics (IOQM), qualifying which he scored 23 points out of 81 in the Indian National Mathematical Olympiad (INMO). He has also been selected in the Indian Olympiad Qualifier in Astronomy (IOQA) by scoring 78 points and cleared the Indian National Astronomy Olympiad (INAO) where he scored 39 points out of 90.

The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is the largest, oldest and most prestigious mathematics Olympiad for students. While many private entities conduct different Olympiads, there is only one Olympiad recognized by the government and by international bodies.

The International Olympiads in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Astronomy and Junior Science is an annual event, which is held in June/July every year. The country hosting the IMO for different subjects varies from year to year. This year, the 63rd International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO 2022) will be held in Oslo in Norway.

Muralidhar is a PUC student at TLC PU College (A division of CFAL), Mangaluru where the focus of learning is not on marks, but in developing passion and excellence in STEM subjects. The students of CFAL attained the best results in the region at the recent National Talent Search Examination (NTSE), wherein four CFAL students were selected for the said scholarship and Muralidhar was one of them.

It may be recalled that CFAL student Shreyas Adiga received an honorable mention in the APMO this year. In 2018, CFAL student Prathyush Poduval won a Silver Medal in Astronomy & Astrophysics, their student Aditya Prakash participated in Mathematics Olympiad in 2017, In 2014, CFAL student Sumith (Physics and Chemistry) and in 2013, Sunil Simha (Astronomy) were among the only 35 students in the country to reach the prestigious third stage and had an opportunity to attend the orientation cum selection camp at Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Mumbai.

The history of IMO dates back to 1959, when the first edition was held in Romania with seven countries participating: Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, and USSR. Since then, the event has been held every year (except 1980) in different countries. Currently, more than 100 countries from 5 continents participate. Each country can send a team of up to six secondary students or individuals who have not entered University or the equivalenter, National level exams like Olympiads, KVPY and JEE Advanced, motivate students to strive for better and deeper understanding of scientific facts and data. It helps them to enhance their reasoning, analytical and problem-solving skills. Above all, participating in Olympiad exams and representing one’s state or country at national and international level is a matter of great joy and pride.

CFAL promotes original thinking among students. In the JEE-Main 2021, more than 20 toppers from the district were CFAL students. CFAL has been conducting the Ramanujan Contest for the last several years, and students who have participated in it have been able to go to the National level in the NMTC exams, clear the RMO and various other scholarship exams like KVPY and NTSE. Every Last Sunday of the month this test is being conducted at various centres across the state. The last date to register is on 26th June 2022. Students can register on their website : www.cfalindia.com/ramanujan2022.html. The CFAL website also has Free Recorded Content for both Foundation (Grade 8-10) & for JEE & NEET Courses.

Vijay Moras, managing director, CFAL, Severine Rosario, founder, CFAL, Ferdie D'Souza, Math Program coordinator), Muralidhar Rao (the student selected for INMO & INAO) and Gopikrishnan Rao, father of Muralidhar Rao were present at the press meet and expressed their happiness over Muralidhar’s accomplishment.