Smartacus 2023, India’s largest online school quiz is back!
The HT School ecosystem has created a whole new universe for students that is abuzz with communities, programmes and events, both online and on-ground. The latest offering in its bouquet of online events is OTTplay Premium presents Smartacus 2023, The Hindustan Times National Interschool Quiz. This Limca Record Holder National Online Quiz event, a pan-India virtual school quiz to be played by individuals, is all set for a grand launch on 15th August. The Online Qualifier round will take place on this day from 4 PM to 6 PM as India celebrates its 76th glorious year of independence. Along the way, young quizzers like yourself will get to create history as you win even before you play, on this Independence Day! Exciting prizes worth ₹1 lakh+, including smart TVs, mobiles, smartwatches and an exclusively curated, amazing OTTplay KidsLearn Subscription pack worth ₹5,000 absolutely free for 1 full year are up for grabs for each registered participant.
Smartacus 2023 will be hosted by two of the most renowned quizmasters of the country, Dr. Navin Jayakumar and Mr. Avinash Mudaliar. Both of them also hosted HT School’s first quizzing venture ClassAct 2022, The Hindustan Times Republic Day Quiz which went on to create the world record for ‘Maximum Participation in an Online School Quiz’. For this year’s edition of Smartacus, students can register for the Quiz for a nominal entry fee of ₹99 only, till 14th August.
This year’s quiz is being presented by OTTplay, an award-winning platform for finding movies, TV shows, web series - WHAT to watch, WHERE to watch, HOW to watch, and even WHEN to watch! OTTplay’s SMART recommendation engine handpicks the movies and shows that match the viewer’s taste and language preferences by diving deep into the most number of OTT channels. With the launch of subscriptions on OTTplay, viewers can choose from 5 exciting packs and stream content of their choice on the OTTplay app, web and mweb platforms. “With the changing education landscape in our country, students are always on the lookout for something interesting and pathbreaking to learn from and display their talents and creativity. It is here that HT School and OTTplay Premium – two flagship brands under the HT Media Group umbrella – have tried to bridge this gap between learning and its applications for the school students across India by way of its quizzes and events-led offerings,” says Meghashyam Shirodkar, Head, Content – HT School. Moreover, life skills have gained more prominence than rote learning, which was the norm till a few decades back. Hence, keeping in with the times, Hindustan Times has also stepped up by catering to these evolving needs of students for over two decades now. Partnerships for Action in Education (PACE), an HT Media initiative, was launched way back in 1998 with this objective. Since then, PACE has come a long way and established a strong presence through HT Student Edition, a six-page daily publication that reaches 4 lakh students across 2000 schools.
Apart from this Edition, where students can share their thoughts, experiences and opinions, PACE, with its strong network of more than 10,000 schools nationwide, conducts a variety of on-ground programmes all-year-long for students, teachers, parents, education professionals, and other stakeholders. In the past, HT PACE has launched several noteworthy initiatives, including Knowledge Promenade (walk the talk with thought leaders), Shutterbug (photography workshop), Creative Strokes (art workshop), HT Dialogues (a series of talks by policymakers, educators, mental health experts, and parents), and Annual Teachers' Meet, among others.
PACE is currently collaborating with schools from all corners of the country to foster the spirit of quizzing, making Smartacus 2023 the buzzword among school students. This pan-India online quizzing event is meant for Indian students of grades 1 to 12. The quiz comprising three rounds (individual participation) -- the Online Qualifier, the National Semifinals and the National Finale -- will cover a wide range of subjects including history, geography, sports, language and literature, science, arts and entertainment, culture and lifestyle and general knowledge. The Online Qualifier round will be individual, wherein students of grades 1 to 12 will compete asynchronously on the Kahoot! platform. For the Online Qualifier, participants should log in to Kahoot! on August 15 at least five minutes before the commencement of the quiz at 4 PM. Joining late may result in the participant not being able to answer questions and gain points.
The Online Qualifier will consist of 60 questions, including multiple-choice and type-in formats, with a time limit of 30-60 seconds to answer every question. Rules for the National Semifinals and the National Finale shall be communicated separately to those participants who qualify for these subsequent rounds. HT will declare and reward the Top 3 National Winners with Grand Prizes including smart TVs, mobiles, and smartwatches, whereas ranks 4 to 10 will be announced as National Finalists, with each participant getting a digital certificate at the end of the competition.
In the meantime, you can also check out our buzzing quizzing community – Quizverse – to brush up your knowledge about news and trivia and be well-equipped with answers for OTTplay Premium presents Smartacus 2023 - The Hindustan Times Independence Day Quiz by HT School. The clock is ticking away! What are you waiting for? Go ahead and register for Smartacus 2023 NOW!