The most prominent competition for math and science Olympiad in Indonesia is Olimpiade Sains Nasional (OSN). It is organized by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Indonesia yearly.  The purpose of OSN is to provide an opportunity for the largest number of students from all over Indonesia to participate in a national level math and science competition and to select students to represent Indonesia at the premier international competitions such as International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO), International Physics Olympiad (IPhO), etc.

OSN consist of 3 rounds that students must participate in consecutively should they qualify, namely:

  1. Olimpiade Sains Kabupaten (OSK): competition at city/regency level, usually held at the end of January or early February every year.
  2. Olimpiade Sains Propinsi (OSP): competition at province level, usually held in March/April.
  3. Olimpiade Sains Nasional (OSN): competition at the national level, usually held in early July.

These schedules can change from year to year depending on many factors such as national event (general elections, etc.), national holiday (Idul Fitri being the most influential), budgetary constraint, etc. You should check about schedules regularly, usually in the parents’ forum (being the most updated and informative).

OSN is for all grade-levels of students and is organized in three levels:

  1. Elementary school level (4th and 5th grade).  The 6th grade must participate in the Junior High level. The lower grade students are usually too young to participate.  The competition consists of 2 subjects at this level: Mathematics and Natural Science.
  2. Junior High school level (6th, 7th and 8th grade). The competition consists of 3 subjects at this level: Mathematics, Natural Science and Social Science.
  3. Senior High school level (9th, 10th and 11th). The 12th-grade students are not allowed to participate anymore as they are directed to concentrate for Final National Examination (UAN) and college preparations. The competition consists of 9 subjects at this level:
    • Mathematics
    • Physics
    • Chemistry
    • Biology
    • Astronomy
    • Computer/Informatics
    • Earth Science
    • Geography
    • Economics. 

Subjects such as Mathematics and Chemistry allow lower grade students to participate at Senior High school level OSN.

For students to participate in OSN, they must be nominated and registered by their schools to the regional office of the Ministry of Education at the city/regency level (Dinas Pendidikan Kabupaten/Kota).

Each principal should receive an invitation from the Ministry every year. If they did not receive one, they should ask Dinas Pendidikan for one because it is the right of every school to participate in OSN.  Parents can ask the principal about this if they are interested in their children to participate in OSN, especially for schools who have not participated in OSN before.

There are also other competitions for students interested in math and science olympiad at national and regional (international) level.

For mathematics competitions, there are numerous competitions available to participate.  However, parents should note that many of the mathematics competitions are not of good reputations and held for the organizers’ commercial purpose. Parents should check carefully about these competitions before they register their children to participate.  On the other hand, there are numerous other competitions organized for non-profit purpose such as : Asian Physics Olympiad (APhO, for high school students, organized rotationally among Asian countries) and International Zhautykov Olympiad (organized in Kazakhstan for Mathematics, Physics and Computer subjects for high school students).  Parents can contact SIMETRI foundation (www.yayasansimetri.or.id, info@yayasansimetri.or.id) to inquire about APhO and IZhO if they are interested.