International competitive programming olympiad for secondary school students up to 20 years old. Ukraine forms a national team through selection rounds. Finals in Tashkent, 9–16 August 2026.
IOI (International Olympiad in Informatics) is the world's leading competitive programming olympiad for school students. Participants solve algorithmic problems over two competition days: solutions are automatically judged against test cases, so both correctness and efficiency matter.
You need algorithms and data structures—dynamic programming, graphs, greedy algorithms—not knowledge of a specific programming language or framework.
A good practice platform between rounds is USACO: free year-round competitions with the same automatic judging format.
There's one path for all subject olympiads—through the All-Ukrainian Student Olympiad in the relevant subject. It has four stages:
After the final, the strongest participants are invited to training camps. Ukraine's team participation is organized by the Institute for the Modernization of Education Content (IMZO)—this is where team rosters and results are published.
Key point to understand: you can't apply directly to the international olympiad. The only way in is through the school round. So start preparing a year to eighteen months before the event.
Participants who represented Ukraine at international competitions are a separate category in admission rules. Conditions change every year, so the only reliable source is the current Order of Admission to Higher Education Institutions, which the Ministry of Education publishes separately for each year. Don't rely on last year's articles: the rules really do change.
Always check the official website before applying: dates and conditions change every year.
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