1. What does the word 'Mimamsa' mean?

    A profound thought / reflection / consideration / investigation / examination / discussion.

2. What will be the format of the prelims exams?

    The preliminary round will be a 60 minutes long written exam with equal weightage for biology, chemistry, physics and maths.

3. What will be the format of the finals?

    The finals will stretch over ~14 hours over two days. Have a look at this page under About Mimamsa.

4. Why does the final round stretch for so long?

    Almost all questions in Mimamsa finals are of the discussion type. Participants are given 3-10 minutes (depending on the level of the question) to think and then another 2-3 minutes to present their answers. After that, the other teams critic these answers or present their own views. Finally, the judges give the right / best answers and critic all the answers presented. So obviously, it takes time. As one of the past participants had put it, in the game of science quiz dominated by the equivalent of 20-20s, Mimamsa is the test cricket: the ultimate test of intellectual stamina. Past experience tells us that there is never a dull moment during these 14 hours!

5. Who judges the answers given by the participants?

    The judges will be eminent scientists who are experts in their fields. Most of the judges will be faculty from IISER Pune, but we will also invite scientists from outside IISER to judge our event

6. If IISER faculty are amongst the judges then won't they be biased towards the home        team?

    IISER Pune does not participate in the event as a team.

7. Our college has not received the invitation letter from IISER-P. Can we participate?

    Yes, you can. See Registration for more details about participation.

8. I can not find 3 partners to form a team. Can I participate as an individual?

    No. Participation is limited to teams consisting of four members.

9. You say that "The top four teams from four different colleges selected through the            preliminary round shall proceed to the finals." Can you elaborate?

    Assume that the ranking at the prelims is A1> A2> B1> B2> C1> C2> D1> D2 where the alphabets indicate the identity of the colleges and the numbers stand for the identity of the teams (A1 = Team#1 from college A etc.) Then the line up for the finals would be A1, B1, C1, D1. This is because Mimamsa is an inter-college competition and not an inter-team competition. The finalists would represent their colleges and we want to give equal opportunities to four colleges in the finals.

10. Will the prelims scores carry forward to the finals?

    No.

11. My college is not in Pune. Where will I stay during the finals?

    IISER-P will provide accommodations to finalists from non-Pune colleges. We shall also reimburse 3AC return fare from the railway station nearest to the college to Pune by the shortest route (against valid travel documents). Please note that this is applicable only for the finalists.

12. Will I get accommodation / reimbursement for attending the prelims?

    Sorry, that is not possible.

13. Will teachers / guardians who accompany the team members also get                                     accommodations / travel support?

    Sorry. We can provide accommodation / travel support only for the actual team members.

14. I want to take part in the prelims but there will probably be an exam during the finals...

    If you are taking part in the prelims then we expect you to be available for the finals in case you qualify. The bonafide certificate explicitly requires the college to allow you to participate in the finals. Therefore, your participation in the prelims is an indication that you will come to Pune and take part in the finals, if you qualify. If there are doubts in terms of your availability during the finals, please do not participate in the prelims. If a team from a college violates this rule, then the college may be banned from participating in future editions of Mimamsa.

15. We have reached the finals but one of the members of our team is unavailable. Can          we bring in another person?

    Sorry, the team composition can not change once the team has reached the finals and the team will have to compete without the missing member.

16. We have registered for the prelims but one of the members of our team is                               unavailable. Can we bring in another person?

    You can re-register till the last date (25 December 2013) by sending an email to mimamsa@iiserpune.ac.in and clearly stating that you are re-registering. After that change in team composition is not possible.

17. What about the prizes?

    All finalists get cash awards and Mimamsa mementos (proportional to the team's rank in the finals). The Winning team gets a prize money of Rs.24,000, runners up get a prize money of Rs. 16,000 consolation prize money of Rs.10,000 is given to the teams finishing 3rd and 4th in the finals. Apart from these, we shall also sponsor the travel, accommodation and hospitality of all the non-local finalists. The total amount spent in this in 2013 was more than 1.25 lakhs rupees. This year's amount will be equivalent or more.

    All prelims participants shall get participation certificates. Also, the teams who top at each centre (barring the finalists), shall get a special certificate to the effect.