Mimamsa is a National level annual Science Quiz organized by the students of IISER Pune for students at the undergraduate level. It is a two-stage event : the Prelims - a written exam with sections from the 4 major disciplines of Science namely Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics; takes place in January at several centres across India. High school level knowledge in basic sciences is sufficient to answer all the questions in Prelims. The top 4 teams selected through the Prelims qualify for the Mains - which is comprised of brain-racking quizzing sessions spread over a pleasant March weekend. The questions are designed to investigate, rather than to simply arrive at an answer, and specifically to promote debate and discussion among teams and the judges. Mimamsa is arguably one of the toughest Science Quizzes at the Undergraduate Level, and tests the concepts of its participants, rather than simply facts, leading its witnesses to go back to the basics and unravel the science behind the ‘science’ we study.
Mimamsa was conceptualised and founded by Dr. Sutirth Dey - a faculty member in the Biology Department at IISER Pune. The underlying philosophy behind the quiz lies in putting forth arguments and counter-arguments; to arrive at an answer based on deduction and logic, and to debate upon the answers given by other teams. The belief is that questions in science do not demand “correct” answers - they require original thinking.
The first edition of Mimamsa was organised on January 10, 2009, in Pune, as a small inter-college event. We have come a long way since then, and evolved considerably over time. This year marks the 11th Edition of Mimamsa. The 2018 edition of the Prelims saw a record participation of 441 teams in 14 centres across India – Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Vadodara, Bhopal, Kochi, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Mohali and Tirupati. The 2019 chapter will have a total of 17 centres in 15 cities across India.
The Winners of Mimamsa will receive the Mimamsa Trophy and all the Finalists will receive mementos. Prizes worth 1,15,000+ will be awarded to the Finalists and Subject Toppers. The distribution of prizes is as follows:
Cash prizes
Winner :- Rs 50,000
First Runner Up :- Rs 25,000
Second Runner Up :- Rs 15,000
Third Runner Up :- Rs 8,000
Nationwide Subject Toppers :- Rs 4,000 each
Merchandise for all Finalists, Subject Toppers and Centre Toppers.
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