Tomsk State University hosted the final stages of the open regional intercollegiate Olympiad (ORMO) for schoolchildren. More than 1,500 schoolchildren (in total more than 11 thousand students of 8-11 grades) participated in the final, including 160 children from nine countries of the world. Winners and prize holders of the Olympiad will receive additional points upon admission and the opportunity for tuition-free study without entrance tests.

Tomsk State University was the main venue for the Olympiad. It was possible to participate in ORMO in nine subjects: biology, geography, history, chemistry, physics, literature, mathematics, Russian language and publishing. 11,500 winners and prize holders of the qualifying stage were invited to the final, including the participants from Belarus, Moldova (Transnistria), Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Peru, Mali, Vietnam and Indonesia.

— TSU is actively expanding its boundaries and attracts schoolchildren not only in Russia and the CIS, but also from abroad. So, this year 160 foreign schoolchildren took part in ORMO, – said Anna Korshunova, head of the Student Enrollment Division. – This year, for the first time eight people from Indonesia got into the ORMO final.

In order for schoolchildren to feel more confident at the final stage of the Olympiad, Tomsk State University organized free training sessions in all subjects, as well as fee-based training in the Russian language, history, literature, geography and chemistry.

The Department of Physics conducted an Olympiad in physics. The applicants had to deal with tasks of increased complexity and learned non-standard solutions.

— I take part in the training for the Olympiad, because I want to pass ORMO well and join TSU without entrance exams, – said Konstantin Kustov, a student of the 11th grade of the TPU lyceum. – We solve different tasks, for example, we went through a vector method of solving problems of dynamics, in particular, ballistics. I hope that this training will help me enter the desired faculty. I like the people in Tomsk and the atmosphere at TSU. I often participate in various programs and events of the university, for example, in summer I participated in the TSU Summer School on Physics and Mathematics, I regularly take classes at the TSU network school of physics, mathematics and astronomy.

ORMO makes it possible to enter the university without entrance examinations (with a score of 300), as well as gives up to 10 additional points upon admission to Tomsk State University. Until March 2, there is still an opportunity to write a qualifying stage in computer science.

Winners and prize-holders of the ORMO finals who have confirmed the subject of the Olympiad with the USE result/entrance test (at least 75 points) are guaranteed admission to the university without entrance tests. The Olympiad diploma is valid for 4 years (grades 8 to 11).

— I really love physics, and the training courses for the ORMO Olympiad opened up new knowledge for me, I learned a lot of new and interesting things. I really wanted to meet the university teachers personally, because I knew that TSU had a strong scientific base. My childhood dream is to work in the field of quantum physics, so at TSU I plan to enter the department of quantum field theory, – added Ekaterina Sennik, an eighth-grader from Berdsk (Novosibirsk Region).