The National Science Olympiad 2026

The NSO 2026 will happen across two levels.

• The Regional Qualifiers - School Level Competition;
  • Research Paper – 01^st September, 2025 to 01^st March, 2026 (team based). The Research Paper will constitute 60% of a team’s / student’s total score. Research Problems will be released soon
  • Theory Exam - 01^st 30^th March, 2026 (Individual Assessment). This will be done from within the respective school campuses. SOFU will dispatch team of examiners to administer the exam. The theory exam will account for 40% of a team’s / student’s score.
• The National Championship - The National Championship will bring together the top 54 teams country wide from the Regional Qualifiers. It will take on the model of the Science Fights. Science Fights mimic the real-world environment of a PhD defence. Special training will be offered to qualifying teams.

Each participating school will be required to register students in teams of 3 students each. A participating school can have a minimum of 10 teams. There is no upper limit to how many students / teams can participate from a single school. Students can come from either O’level or A’level, provided this is clearly indicated upon registration.

Each competing team shall pay UGX. 40,000 as participating fees for the NSO 2026 Regional Qualifiers, regardless of number of students in the team.

The National Science Olympiad will serve as a qualifier round for the International Olympiads i.e. IJSO, IYNT, IYPT and IMC

We look forward to an exciting NSO 2026.