Genius-2016: Awarding the brightest young minds

CHANDIGARH: Genius-2016', a contest to search for the brightest class IX and X student, was organised by The Times of India, in association with

Helix Institute

, in which thousands of students from across the region participated.The prize distribution ceremony was held on December 26. In class X,

Aditya Garg

, a student of

Bhavan Vidyalaya

, Sector 15, Panchkula, bagged the first prize of Rs 51,000. Satvik Bansal, a student of Delhi Public School, Ambala city, secured the second position, while Harsh Kumar, a student of Bhavan Vidyalaya, Sector 15, Panchkula, was adjudged third in the contest. They were awarded Rs 21,000 and Rs 11,000 as cash prize, respectively.

In class IX, Tanish Tuteja of Bhavan Vidyalaya, Sector 15, Panchkula, secured the first position while Aditya Aggarwal of Saupins School, Sector 32, Chandigarh, came second and

Dhvanit Beniwal

, of Bhavan Vidyalaya, Sector 15, Panchkula, secured the third place. They were also awarded cash prizes of Rs 51,000, Rs 21,000 and Rs 11,000, respectively.

Announcement of the winners was made on December 26, 2016.An event was held to felicitate the winners, who were also given trophies and certificates by Mukesh Syal, director of Helix Institute. Interestingly, all top positions in the competition were grabbed by the boys, while in last year's event, all top positions were occupied by the girls.

“First 50 rankers of Genius 2016 in the class X has been offered free coaching in special IIT-JEE batch for two years. The first 30 rankers in the class IX are offered free coaching in the foundation course for class X,“ informed Syal. During the preliminary rounds, which were held at the respective schools, around 9,000 students from over 100 prominent schools of Chandigarh, Panchkula, Mohali, Ambala, Rajpura, Kharar and other nearby areas had participated. As many as 550 students were shortlisted for the finals of Genius-2016, which was held on December 18, 2016, at Helix Institute, Sector 34, Chandigarh.

The students were tested for their knowledge in maths, science and general awareness through a two-hour objective-type test. The event also served as a platform for students to hone their skills and revise their curriculum.