School - Go For Gold | CodeChef
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Go for Gold for Schools
It was in the year 2009 when we created CodeChef, a non-commercial platform to help Indian programmers become the best in the world.
Since then, CodeChef's growth has been outstanding, surpassing all our expectations:
  • 600,000 active users from 12,000 institutions
  • 1300+ programming contests
  • Over 15 million+ submissions
We're proud of CodeChef, but we know we still have a long way to go. That's why Directi and CodeChef together announced the Go for Gold Project in 2010 to see an Indian college win gold at the ACM ICPC world finals. Read more about that program here.
In alignment with our goal, we had extended this program to the Indian Middle/High School students in the year 2013. As a part of this program, we want an Indian student to win the Gold medal at the International Olympiads in Informatics, which is considered the Olympics of programming for School Students.
We realize that that change won't happen overnight, so our plan is to support learning and reward improvement. We're providing ongoing scholarship, incentives, promotion, tech assistance, and training for Indian students.
What do you win?
  • A Laptop worth 65000 Rupees.
  • The prestigious Go for Gold Cup on behalf of your school (The winner of the Go for Gold Cup will have his/her name inscribed in the Cup).
  • A cash prize calculated by using the Golden Rule.
  • And to top it all, a guaranteed offer of employment at Directi.
How much is the prize?
The cash prize for any year is computed as follows:
Prize = (Rs. 161803 * 1.61803^1.61803) * (log (base 1.61803) (N+1))
  • N is the number of years for which this prize has remained unclaimed (Current value of N is 3)
  • 1.61803 are the first 6 digits of the golden ratio (go for gold ;))
Each year the prize is unclaimed, it increases further. The below table shows how this prize would grow if it were unclaimed for the next 4 years -
Year Cash Prize (Rs.)
1 507,720
2 804,717
3 1,015,441
4 1,178,890
How is the prize money distributed?
The individual will dedicate 33% of the prize to his school to spend towards enhancing the IT infrastructure (internet connection, laptops, computer room). The remaining prize will belong to him to help him further his education.
How do you win?
To win this you need to first get selected to represent India at the IOI. And you get to win the following based on your performance at the IOI. 
  • Anyone who wins a Bronze Medal will get a Laptop worth 45000 Rupees.
  • Anyone who wins a Silver Medal or above will get a Laptop worth 65000 Rupees.
  • Anyone who wins the Gold Medal will get the following:
    • Directi Go for Gold Cup
    • The Cash prize
    • A guaranteed offer of employment at Directi subject to him completing his graduation in an IT related field.
Past Go For Gold for Schools Winners
IOI 2014: In its second year of launch, the Go For Gold prize was claimed by
  • Akshat Bubna from Amity International School, Saket, New Delhi who won the first ever Gold medal for the country with a rank of 16
Along with him in that year,
  • Malvika Raj Joshi from Chashak Gurukul, Mumbai won Silver medal with a rank of 34, just missed the Gold medal by one rank
The felicitation ceremony was conducted at IIIT-Delhi.
IOI 2015: In this year, the Go For Gold prize got reset to the start, because of Akshat's last year win. It went unclaimed though. However, the performance of the Indian contingent bettered the last years medal tally, with all four students bringing medals home. The students who brought glory to India were:
  • #28, Malvika Raj Joshi of Chashak Gurukul, Mumbai - Silver
  • #131, Kushagra Juneja, Apeejay School, Pitampura, New Delhi - Bronze
  • #117, Tanay Kothari, Delhi Public School, R K Puram, New Delhi - Bronze
  • #152, Arjun P, Chennai Public School, Chennai - Bronze
This year also, Malvika missed the Gold medal by 1 rank and to settle for a Silver medal. These students were felicitated at IIIT, Delhi. Below are the glimpses:
IOI 2016: This year, the Go For Gold prize at stake was INR 804,717, which went unclaimed. The performance of the Indian contingent was just as last year, with all four students bringing medals home. The students who brought glory to India were:
  • #58 Srijon Mukherjee of Amity International School, Noida - Silver
  • #69 Rajat De Of Delhi Public School, Dwarka, New Delhi - Silver
  • #111 Malvika Raj Joshi of Chashak Gurukul, Mumbai - Bronze
  • #121 Sampriti Panda, SAI International School, Bhubaneswar - Bronze
The felicitation ceremony was conducted at Chennai Mathematical Institute.