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IIT Kharagpur Opens New Doors for Olympiad and Sports Achievers
IITKGP is set to introduce new admission routes that recognize talent beyond the traditional JEE Advanced rankings. Starting with the 2026 academic session, the institute will admit students through two new categories — Science Olympiad Excellence Admission (SCOPE) and Sports Excellence Admission (SEA) — designed to attract exceptional performers in global Olympiads and competitive sports.
Under SCOPE, students who have represented India in international Olympiads — such as Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, or Informatics — or attended national Olympiad training camps will be eligible for direct admission. SEA will apply to athletes who have earned medals at the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Khelo India University Games, Senior Nationals, or All-India Inter-University tournaments in the past four years.
While students must still qualify the JEE Advanced exam to establish academic readiness, they will not be evaluated solely by rank under these categories. The move, approved in principle by IIT Kharagpur’s Senate, aims to make the institute’s admissions more inclusive and recognize excellence in varied domains of achievement.
Similar initiatives exist at IIT Madras — which admits Olympiad, sports, and fine arts achievers through its SCOPE, SEA, and FACE pathways — and IIT Kanpur, which recently offered direct entry to five international Olympiad medalists. However, IIT Kharagpur’s effort is expected to be the most extensive and formally integrated with the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) admission system.
This marks a significant philosophical shift for IITKGP, reaffirming its founding principle — "योगः कर्मसु कौशलम्".(Excellence in action is Yoga). By valuing excellence across disciplines, the institute seeks to enrich its campus with students who combine academic rigor with creativity, perseverance, and leadership — qualities often honed through Olympiad training or sports.
For alumni, this development underscores IIT Kharagpur’s continued commitment to expanding opportunity and redefining merit. It reflects an institution once again leading by example — recognizing that excellence can emerge from many different paths.
Sources: Times of India, The Economic Times, IIT Madras and IIT Kanpur official releases
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