International Olympiad in AI launches to nurture the next generation of AI talent

A first-of-its-kind International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (AI) competition for high school students will be held this summer, providing a platform to celebrate the next generation of artificial intelligence innovators and developers from around the world.

Organized by the LERAI Foundation whose team has extensive experience in international olympiads, the inaugural event aims to inspire student interest in the field of AI. It will challenge students’ knowledge and skills in three AI fundamentals: machine learning (ML), computer vision (CV), and natural language processing (NLP).

“The rapid advances in AI are shaping the future for all of humanity,” said Dr. Yova Kementchedjhieva, chair of the International Olympiad in AI scientific committee and associate professor of NLP at Mohammed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI). “By tapping into the brilliance of our youth with this pioneering competition, we can identify exceptional talent, promote AI learning in schools globally, and inspire the AI leaders and innovators of tomorrow,” she said.

The first International Olympiad in AI will take place from August 9 to 15, 2024 in Bulgaria and is modeled after and formally recognized as one of the established International Science Olympiads. The AI-focused competition will include two rounds:

• A scientific round where participating teams are given problems that mimic real-world scientific research. The teams receive three problems based on recent AI research six weeks in advance of the AI Olympiad, and work on them on their own schedule. At the end of the allotted time, the teams submit their solutions in the form of working code and model outputs. Then once students arrive onsite, they build on the work they did at home, expanding their solutions to new challenges.
• A practical exam where students must design and perform experiments and to draw conclusions about the capabilities and limitations of existing AI solutions. This round happens entirely onsite at the AI Olympiad and is intended to acquaint students with the workings of widely used AI software like Chat-GPT, Dalle-2 and others.

Top students from around the world will compete to win medals and prizes. Universities give credits for good performance at the Olympiads during their admission process and previous winners of the Mathematical, Physics, Informatics or Linguistics Olympiads have joined or started successful technology companies.

This international event is made possible by sponsors from technology companies, academic institutions, and science foundations such as Google and MBZUAI. It is hoped global high school students participating in the competition will elect to pursue a career in AI and a future master’s or Ph.D. at MBZUAI in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

For more details on the International Olympiad in AI, including how countries can get involved in sending a national team, visit https://ioai-official.org.