CHENNAI : On Sunday at 10 am, 2,200 students from classes 9 to 12 from across India were all set to put their classroom knowledge to test. Rotary Club of Chennai Galaxy went online to conduct its Galaxy Science and Technology Quiz 4.0. After three successful editions that were held for Chennai students at the Kamaraj Arangam, the pandemic forced the organisers to take the quiz to the digital space. While the previous years’ competitions were a group activity, this time the students had to put up a solo fight to the finale.
The first round was a preliminary one where participants answered questions, prepared by Quiz Foundation of India (QFI), on an app set up by Nexus Consulting, Bengaluru, who were the logistics partner. “The final 100 were selected based on the speed with which they answered. The QFI had prepared questions in such a way that as soon as the candidate gave a response, the correct answer was revealed. And the order of the questions was different for every log-in. This ensured there was no cheating involved. Since it was based on speed, the students anyway did not have time to Google or refer to study materials,” said event chairman and past president of the club, Rtn Anshul Agarwal.
Anshul and the team of Rotarians — including president Rtn Giridhara Raj, secretary Rtn Govindarajan Palani, event secretary Rtn Anand Ranjan — monitored the proceedings from Courtyard by Marriott. The event was planned in six months. “We have always tied up with QFI. This year it was different; but we made it pan-India. If the pandemic goes away or the situation becomes much better than what it is now, we would like to invite the finalists to Chennai next year. But after this edition, we are sure to make it big in the coming editions with several improvements,” he added. The team reached out to schools across the country and also spread the news about the quiz via social media.
Of 2,200 participants, 100 were chosen as finalists and 12 walked home with prizes worth `5 lakh such as gaming desktop, laptop, air-conditioner, tablets, smartwatches and UPS. Four students from PSBB KK Nagar Chennai were in the top 12. Raghav Singh from Delhi Public School in Noida ranked first in the competition. The quiz master for the finale, held at 5 pm the same day, was Dr Navin Jaykumar. District governor of Rotary district 3232 Rtn AKS Muthu Palaniappan was the chief guest. The sponsors for the event were Dodla Dairy Ltd, and Quess. Hi ! laptop.com was the biggest contributor for the prizes given to winners and the first 100 qualifiers apart from Metrohm India.
“The aim of the event has always been to give an opportunity to students to have knowledge outside their textbooks. We want them to get exposed to the competitive world, and this will also prepare them for common exams like NEET and JEE,” said Agarwal.
Winners
Raghav Singh, class 10, Delhi Public School, Noida
Tejas Venkatraman, class 12, PSBB KK Nagar, Chennai
Lokajit, class 12, Bhavans Rajaji Vidyashram, Chennai
Hurudaya Narasimhan, class 11, Maharishi Vidya Mandir, Chennai
R Aadhithya, class 11, PSBB Nungambakkam, Chennai