FAQ

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Responses to frequently asked questions

When should the team members be selected?

Ideally, you should select your team members by the middle of June.

Are there any minimum computer configuration requirements for the team laptops?

No. All code will be executed online, in Google Colab. The computers should have a modern browser installed (ideally Chrome, Firefox would also work).

Will the competition problems and instruction be translated in participants' languages?

No. All instructions, problems and materials will be in English only.

What Google Colab accounts will the contestants use?

The contestants will use Google Colab Pro+ accounts provided by the organisers, and loaded with a fixed amount of GPU credits.

How do we know what types of problems to expect?

The Olympiad will take place in two stages: an at-home stage (starting six weeks before the in-person event) and an on-site stage. The at-home stage will count for only 5% of the final scoring and is meant as an educational practice round, which will introduce the teams to the nature of the problems and allow them to build up some necessary skills.

During the at-home stage, is the team supposed to work strictly independently, or can there be guidance from the team leaders?

Team leaders are allowed to provide suggestions and advice during the at-home stage of the competition. However, they are not allowed to write code, perform debugging, execute experiments or carry out error analysis. In this stage, team leaders are encouraged to guide their teams, while giving the students ample room for creative problem solving, building of coding skills and analytical thinking.

During the on-site stage, is the team supposed to work strictly independently, or can there be guidance from the team leaders?

The teams will strictly rely on their own skill and knowledge during the on-site stage, with no help from team leaders or anyone else.

Are contestants allowed to use StackOverflow, ChatGPT, and open-source code in building their solutions?

Yes, this is allowed both during the at-home stage and the on-site stage, with the constraints that no paid services can be used (e.g. Microsoft Copilot) unless access is explicitly provided by the organisers.

Are there going to be any communication channels with the Jury?

Yes, there will be a Slack space where team leaders will be invited and allowed to ask questions until the end of the at-home stage. During the on-site stage, provisions will be made for communication between the contestants and Jury, concerning problem formulation and technical difficulties.

Are there going to be any contestations?

No. The jury decisions will be final.

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