The International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence
The International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (IOAI) is one of the international science olympiads held every summer . It was established in 2023 with the purpose of providing high school students around the world with the opportunity to explore the limitless possibilities of artificial intelligence (AI) and nurturing the next generation of AI pioneers. The first competition was held in Bulgaria in August 2024. The second edition of the competition will be held in Beijing, China, from August 2nd to 9th 2025.
Competition details
The IOAI competition consists of two rounds: a scientific round and a practical round.
In the scientific round, the participating teams are given problems that mimic real-world scientific research and the process of identifying and addressing limitations in an existing approach. Good performance in this round depends on basic coding skills, familiarity with common deep learning Python libraries, and an understanding of the fundamentals of machine learning.
The practical round happens entirely on site at the IOAI and is intended to acquaint students with the workings of widely used AI software like ChatGPT, Dalle-2 and others. The problems require teams to inspect, analyze, and explain scientific questions pertaining to the behavior of working AI software.
Teams are given several problems to work on in a time window of 2 to 4 hours, with access to one computer connected to the internet per team and no other devices. They interact with the AI software through a GUI, the way a regular user would, therefore coding is not required in this round.
IOAI 2025 Syllabus
This syllabus outlines the topics contestants should master to excel in the competition. Each year, the IOAI International Scientific Committee (ISC) updates the official syllabus to reflect the latest research findings and educational priorities in the field.
Topic Classifications
The topics are categorized into three distinct sections, indicating the level and nature of knowledge contestants need:
1. Theory (How it works)
2. Practice (What it does, when to use it, and how to implement it)
3. Both
Contestants should thoroughly understand core concepts and theoretical underpinnings—essentially, the “why” behind AI. This may involve studying textbooks courses, and other resources to delve into the mechanics that power AI algorithms.
Contestants should develop the practical skills necessary to implement AI methods in code. This includes knowing how to use library functions effectively, call the method on a particular data, and interpret outputs. Example: While a contestant need not fully dissect the internal workings of the Adam optimizer, they should be able to decide when and how to employ it.
Certain topics require knowledge of both theoretical principles and practical application.
This structured approach ensures that contestants acquire the right balance of conceptual insight and hands-on proficiency across the diverse array of AI topics.