Q: What does International Philosophy Olympiad (IPO): Why IP Math & Physics Students Should Care cover? A: Rules, eligibility, essay mechanics and recent results of the world's only high-school philosophy essay contest.
TL;DR The International Philosophy Olympiad (IPO) is a four-hour global essay challenge for students aged ≤ 20. Founded in 1993 and run by the International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP) under UNESCO patronage, it awards Gold, Silver, Bronze and Honourable Mentions. The same argument-mapping, definition-checking and uncertainty-critique skills prized at IPO transfer straight into IP-level proofs, WA data commentaries and Paper 4 practical evaluations.
Registration quick answer (Singapore): Students don’t enter IPO directly. Countries send national teams selected via a national linguistics/philosophy olympiad. See the official site for current rules and links: http://www.philosophy-olympiad.org/
1 What exactly is the IPO?
Fact
Detail
Origins
First held in Smolyan, Bulgaria, May 1993.
Organiser
International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP) with UNESCO support.
Mission
Promote philosophical reflection and foster friendly international dialogue among pre-university students.
Working languages
English, French, German, Spanish.
Essay format
One four-hour handwritten essay on one of four prompts quoting classic thinkers.
IPO rule #1
: “The essay must present a coherent, well-argued personal position, not a summary of textbook facts.” That emphasis on argument structure mirrors what SEAB examiners look for in A-Level Physics planning/evaluation questions.
2 Eligibility & team size
Students must be no older than 20 on competition day and not yet enrolled in university.
Each country's delegation is one or two contestants plus a team leader.
Singapore, for example, runs a national Philosophy Olympiad (since 2014) and sends the top two students to IPO every year.
3 How does marking work?
Five equally-weighted criteria appear on every IPO rubric:
Relevance to the topic
Philosophical understanding of the passage
Critical rigour
Originality
Coherence of structure
Each script is blind-marked by four judges from different countries; the two central values count. Takeaway for IP physicists: the same rigour-plus-clarity bundle yields method marks in Paper 3 data-based questions.
To be confirmed (FISP has not yet announced the venue as of 5 Aug 2025).
Plan ahead: National selections usually close five to eight months before the May IPO finals, so IP Year 4 students should watch their school circulars from August onwards.
6 Why STEM-heavy IP students should bother
6.1 Cross-pollinate proof skills
Structuring a 1600-word essay forces the same hierarchy thinking needed in vector-calculus derivations.
6.2 Tightens timed-writing muscles
Four-hour sustained concentration is almost identical to the combined length of A-Level Paper 1+2 maths.
6.3 CV & scholarship optics
Selective humanities achievements stand out on otherwise STEM-dominated portfolios; past IPO medallists have landed PSC and Oxbridge offers (anecdotal survey of Singapore alumni).
