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International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence

National Olympiad in AI (NOAI)

Guidelines by IOAI

Photo credit: China NOAI 2025 kickoff conference

Introduction

This document aims to provide guidance and facilitate the implementation of National AI Olympiads in countries interested in participating in the IOAI.

Having a National Olympiad in AI (NOAI) is an important tool to educate young generations and encourage students to become future leaders in the field. The NOAI is also the platform to select the best students of a country to represent it at the IOAI.

Curious fact: There is no correlation between country GDP and performance at Olympiads

A study by Ali Sharifi for IOI in 2020 showed that there is correlation between GDP/capita and participation in IOI (richer countries participate more in IOI, but there is no correlation between GDP/capita and ranking at IOI. Similar study was done in 2024 by Victor Lilov for IChO and the results confirmed the lack of correlation between GDP/capita and ranking.

The goal of this implementation plan is not only to select the most outstanding minds among students but also to inspire and attract more kids to science. No matter if you are coming from a country with histroy in Internatinal Olympiads or you are new to the topic, we hope the guidleinse will help you to organize your NOAI.

Curious fact: IOAI GAITE story

The founders of IOAI were excited about the record number of countries participating in its first edition in August 2024 but while working to attract more nations to the community it became clear there is a number of countries that did not appear in non or almost none of the international olympiads.

“In sync with our goal to promote STEM and AI among students globally, foster inclusivity, and expand the IOAI community.we created IOAI Global AI Talent Empowerment (GAITE) initiative. IOIA GAITE is designed to assist countries and territories with limited International Science Olympiads (ISO) history as they work towards joining the IOAI community on an equal footing.” says Elena Marinova, IOAI cofounder and Chair of the Board.

This model is developed by the team organizing the Brazilian NOAI. With experience in National AI Olympiads since 2000, and with the additional experience of members responsible for implementing national olympiads in other areas, Brazil arrived at this model that will run in the country from November 2024 and then adapted for implementation in other interested countries.

We understand the challenge in implementing such an Olympiad. Unlike mathematics and physics, for example, which are sciences of knowledge and development that date back centuries and have been deeply studied and shaped to the capabilities of basic education, Artificial Intelligence is a field of study that is still very young. Even so, the scientific Olympiads were created to bring new generations closer to the relevant sciences of their respective times and we will do the same with AI for the current generations. Study material at the basic level is scarce and still poorly adapted. Given this and the urgency of understanding AI for students, we adapted the Olympiad so that it initially teaches the basics and, finally, trains them in practical terms.

This document aims to detail a possible implementation plan and to facilitate the training and participation of countries that adopt it in a timely manner to have a competitive team for the IOAI. In addition, it will be proposed to use a digital platform that will allow the first three phases of the implemented national Olympiad to be carried out and also to compare data on the results of participating students from different schools so that those responsible have an overview of the digital literacy of the participants and measures that can be implemented to improve future results.

Objectives for the National Olympiads in AI (NOAIs)

Curious fact: The strength of giving a chance for inspiration

In Brazil, science olympiads play a major social role and, as a result, the country holds the largest science Olympiad in the world, held annually: OBMEP, the public school mathematics Olympiad. The role of this Olympiad is so important that even the Brazilian winner of the Fields Medal discovered his passion for mathematics when he went to his first edition of the OBMEP at his public school. Currently, OBMEP has more than 18 million participants per year.

  • Development of Analytical and Critical Skills: Stimulate students’ critical thinking, problem-solving and analytical skills through challenging questions and hands-on activities related to AI and related sciences.
  • Digital literacy: The topic of Artificial Intelligence is extremely unknown from a technical point of view for the non-academic population and, at the same time, it constitutes a technological advancement that brings challenges and opportunities in the most diverse areas of activity. From this point of view, the most relevant objective of NOAI is from a social point of view, which is to serve as a powerful instrument in the development of skills among students, in an accessible and didactic way. Young people who participate in NOAI, especially in its initial phases, will have a clear understanding of the basics of AI and will be able to distinguish relevant aspects of what AIs are, how they can be used and how they will impact the future of their lives.
  • Inclusion of the topic in basic education: unlike what happened with sciences such as physics and mathematics, which were the object of study for centuries and only then implemented in the school curriculum from the beginning, AI requires that basic knowledge be built from scratch. With this goal in mind, we designed NOAI in such a way that participation in the Olympiad itself stimulates learning and in itself teaches and leads students to understand more about the topic.
  • Collaboration and Knowledge Exchange: Provide an environment that favors collaboration between students from different regions, promoting the exchange of knowledge, experiences and the formation of a community of young AI enthusiasts.
  • Scientific Dissemination: Contribute to the popularization of science and AI among young people, using the digital platform to reach a wider and more diverse audience, encouraging curiosity and interest in innovations in the field.
  • Fair and Inclusive Competition: Offering competition that is accessible to all interested students, regardless of their geographic location or available resources, ensuring a fair and equitable experience through digital platforms.
  • NOAI as a beacon of talent: As is naturally the case with other scientific Olympiads, NOAI will also play a central role in discovering and selecting the most outstanding students with the greatest potential to become future scientists and leaders in AI. These talents will represent the country at the IOAI and, in the medium and long term, will be drivers of growth for the AI ​​industry and research in the country.
  • NOAI as a hub between academia and basic education: AI teaching for basic education students will be mediated by researchers, undergraduate and graduate students. The connection between the different educational levels benefits the students who participate in the Olympic process, who learn from what is created and also provides the possibility of the emergence of little-explored didactic and pedagogical skills. This approach also favors the development of teaching and specialization in AI technologies in intermediate areas, such as technicians and non-academic workers.
  • Autonomy for NOAI users: Using a well-studied and developed ready-made Olympiad model will save time for country leaders and avoid having to rush to organize their scientific committee and organizing committee for the first edition. This will allow users to develop autonomy to plan their team’s training in time for the IOAI and will also give them a clear understanding of the needs of their own student population, whether they are active in science Olympiads or not.

By achieving these objectives, NOAI contributes not only to academic excellence, but also to the formation of conscious, critical citizens who are passionate about science and technology, prepared to face the challenges of the future.

Target Audience and Categories

Basic education systems vary greatly in different countries, and therefore, it will be up to the country that implements the NOAI to decide the criteria for participation of its students. It is recommended that students who are in the last four or five years of basic education participate in the Olympiad, with a view to participating in the next edition of the IOAI. For more information, consult the IOAI regulations.

As an experience with positive results in Brazil, it is also recommended that an open category be possible, in which interested registered students can participate in the first two phases. This is beneficial for engaging and teaching fundamental knowledge to those who are not yet old enough to participate in the regular category, and it also provides an idea of ​​knowledge that is important to implement in basic education for interested educators.

Timeline IOAI 2025

The following timeline elements that refer to NOAI are a suggestion and can be modified according to the needs of those responsible for the local organizing Board. It is requested, however, that the calendar not be modified to the point of harming or overlapping with the unpostponable IOAI events that are on the list and that can be checked in detail on the registration page. 2025 China Registration – International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (ioai-official.org)

  • November 2024 – approval of accreditation requests by IOAI and preparation for announcement at national level;
  • December 2024 – announcement of the national selection reaching as many kids and schools as possible to ensure as fair, nondiscriminatory and inclusive national selection as possible;
  • Timeline suggested for the EduSpace Platform users:
    • 1st round: starting from Feb 12, 2025, but the beginning of it and the time ranges are going to be adapted to best suit the country needs (the same follows for the 2nd and 3rd round);
    • 2nd round: Mar 3, 2025;
    • 3rd round: Mar 24, 2025;
    • 4th round: up to the decision of the country, not included in EduSpace Platform.
  • May – June 2025 – intensive preparation of the national teams based on the topics and sample tasks provided by the Scientific Committee of IOAI 2025;
  • July 2025 – “home task” of IOAI 2025 that is already part of the Olympiad;
  • August 2-9, 2025 – IOAI Beijing, China 2025;

Due to logistical issues such as visa issuance and deadlines, it is possible to start selecting students to participate in the IOAI in 2026 in 2025. The use of the EduSpace platform and the translated Olympiad will be possible for this purpose with an adapted calendar. For questions and more information, please contact: Antonio Carlan.

NOAI Format

The National Artificial Intelligence Olympiads will be held in four phases, divided into two cycles, with increasing levels of difficulty, namely:

NOAI IOAI phases

BASIC cycle

Phase 1: Ignite

Purpose: Spark curiosity in AI fundamentals, creating excitement around core concepts and possibilities.

Phase 2: Orient

Purpose: Establish a foundation by deepening understanding and guiding students through essential AI principles.

PREPARATORY cycle

Phase 3: Advance

Purpose: Develop practical skills and critical problem-solving abilities through hands-on challenges.

Phase 4: Immerse

Purpose: Fully engage students in intensive preparation for the international competition, refining knowledge and readiness.

Basic Cycle

Focused on the presentation and subsequent familiarity with the theme of AI and its concepts, applications and definitions. The first two phases have a multiple-choice exam format that is conducted digitally. The digital application of the Olympiad modernizes its format, considerably increases its reach, reduces its logistical cost and allows the questions to include dynamic videos and gifs to create questions that would be impossible with static images on paper. The time saved by applying the NOAI model can be used to form a scientific committee in the user countries; the committee can analyze the data collected in the first two phases and get an idea of ​​the digital literacy of its students and use this information as it sees fit.

“It is possible to ask conceptually simple questions but with deep teachings embedded within. And this is extremely relevant because we observe that today’s young people, despite being very skilled at adapting to new technologies, overestimate their understanding of basic concepts that would strengthen their understanding of advanced technologies.” Antônio Henrique Carlan Júnior, Brazil NOAI founder and IOAI Board member.

Phase 1: Ignite

Purpose: Spark curiosity in AI fundamentals, creating excitement around core concepts and possibilities.

  • The initial phase of NOAI will focus on being the first contact with Artificial Intelligence concepts and skills free from media and artistic biases. The participant will take a test and will not be required to have any prior knowledge other than the ability to interpret text and basic mathematical notions;
  • Due to the lack of knowledge about everything that involves AI-related topics, leading the student to think of the topic as something always of extremely high complexity, the first stage is designed to introduce the participant, encouraging him to realize how he is able to understand and, consequently, want to understand more in the subsequent stages;
  • Students who participate in the first phase will have basic knowledge of AI, its history, digital security, ethics and applications. The test will serve to engage students and disseminate key concepts that will provide greater confidence in the fundamentals of AI.
  • The test will consist of objective questions, with only one correct answer, formulated and reviewed by experts. The test can be taken online on a cell phone or computer;
  • The student will be able and encouraged to research while taking the test.
  • Since this is a phase of exposure to the topic, the objective here is much more to reach a wider audience, both to collect data on the student population and to demystify the topic for those who would not even try to learn more if they were initially exposed to a more complex test. Significant numbers of participants passing through to the next phase are not a problem given the format of the test and also the wider scope of the educational social role of the initial stage of the Olympiad.
  • Suggested approval rate: over 60% among those who took the test. It is not meant to be a knockout phase but rather to attract participants’ interest in their own skills.

“There are students [in Brazil], who have never heard, ‘Congratulations, you did it!’ The first round of our Olympiad is for them.” Richard Lucht, from Brazil NOAI Board member.

Phase 2: Orient

Purpose: Establish a foundation by deepening understanding and guiding students through essential AI principles.

  • In this phase, the student will be introduced to more in-depth concepts about Artificial Intelligence and its applications in everyday life. This stage will also not require extensive prior knowledge, but it will be more difficult than the previous phase and will require more challenging research for students taking the test;
  • Already aware of the basics of what AI actually is and some of its applications, the student will also be confronted with sensitive issues such as social, political and security implications related to the topic. Here the participant becomes someone aware and confident so that, for example, he or she does not fall victim to the wave of untruths that usually accompanies recent innovations;
  • The format of the 2nd phase test will be the same as the 1st phase test;
  • Students will be able to and will be encouraged to consult on the topic during the test. Since this is a more complex approach to the topics, this will be the first real filter of participating students. We already have students with basic knowledge of AI, now we will select those who show interest in really learning more about the topic on their own and achieving higher scores in the competition.
  • Suggested approval rate: top 20% to 30%, with minimum total suggested at 30.

Preparatory Cycle

At this stage, with the scientific committee formed and the most interested students selected, more direct contact between local organizers and students will be possible. The third phase will still be in the digital environment, providing additional time for organizing the committee’s autonomy in training students in practices that use AI, preparing for the team’s participation in the IOAI, and planning measures for subsequent editions of NOAI.

Phase 3: Advance

Purpose: Develop practical skills and critical problem-solving abilities through hands-on challenges.

  • At this stage, the student must perform a practical task with tools that are within the spectrum of what is considered Artificial Intelligence. The stage can be carried out with or without programming, with encouragement and support material provided so that the student can perform the tasks using programming as is done in the academic and business world;
  • The participant will receive data sets for analysis and will have to submit a response set according to the scientific committee’s prior specifications;
  • The student will be given one week to complete the analysis and submit the document according to the specifications;
  • The student may and will be encouraged to consult on the topic and methodologies during the exam period;
  • This is the stage where the work of the scientific committees of each country that will use the NOAI model can begin. They will already have more prepared students and will be able to start working with them, suggesting sources of their respective preferences and providing guidance according to their own capabilities, in addition to the possibility of forming a local community of enthusiasts to exchange experiences;
  • Suggested approval rate: minimum 4 if those responsible decide that the round will be the final one and are willing to start the training for IOAI. If not, around 10 for the final selection.

Phase 4: Immerse

Purpose: Fully engage students in intensive preparation for the international competition (IOAI), refining knowledge and readiness.

  • Between the third and final phase of the Olympiad, it is recommended that students classified for the 4th phase receive specific training for the final phase focused on preparing for the IOAI;
  • It is expected that at this point, with the time gained from the initial phases already developed in the NOAI model and with those responsible aware of the data collected on the characteristics of the students involved, the scientific committees will already be established and organized in order to train their most prominent students according to their needs;
  • Since local experts are the best experts on their students, the scientific committee is given the freedom to design the 4th phase selection process for the best students in the manner that best suits the needs of the scientific committee. It is recommended that, since this is the ultimate goal of NOAI, the tasks available on the IOAI website be used as a basis for selecting national representatives for the next edition of IOAI.
  • At the end, all participants will be evaluated and, following the well-known model of scientific Olympiads, the top 4 participants can be awarded gold medals and will be able to undergo training with the scientific committee for participation in the IOAI in 2025, in Beijing. The awards, if any, are at the discretion of the local NOAI organizers.

Observations

The platform provided is able to perform two multiple-choice tests (first two phases) and a data analysis with F-score metric (third phase). Registrations can be made in blocks by sending spreadsheets and the coordinators who send the spreadsheets will have access to all participants’ performances. The first phase of the Brazilian NOAI is held in November and, as an incentive, a detailed report and a presentation of the progress will be scheduled for those interested in replicating the application model and using the platform.

More information and details will be clarified as the program progresses.

Credits

This document was prepared by Antônio Henrique Carlan Júnior, Brazil NOAI founder and Board member, IOAI Board member and part of the Brazilian Hub for GAITE.

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