On Friday, 27 February 2026, the second International Winter Artificial Intelligence Olympiad (IAIO 2026) concluded in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Organized by IRCAI in collaboration with ACM Slovenia, the five-day event brought together 98 talented high school students from 24 countries, alongside 50 mentors and team members. Over the course of the competition, contestants demonstrated exceptional technical knowledge, practical skills, and a responsible approach to artificial intelligence, proving that young people can make a meaningful contribution to solving global challenges through AI.
The event closed with the medal ceremony. Attendees were addressed by Tanja Fajon, Deputy Prime Minister of Slovenia and Minister for European and Foreign Affairs, who emphasized the importance of connecting young people as the future of ethical AI development and personally presented medals to medalists. Prof. Dr. John Shawe-Taylor, IAIO President and IRCAI Director, reflected on the Olympiad’s achievements and congratulated all contestants on their effort, knowledge, and dedication. Adrian Mladenić Grobelnik, AI researcher, presented his research about contemporary approaches to automating scientific discovery using large language models.
IAIO 2026 Winners
At the Closing Ceremony, 9 gold medals were awarded, alongside 15 silver medals, 24 bronze medals, and 14 honorable mentions.
Top 3 Gold Medalists:
Anango Prabhat, Great Britain
Bryan Zhu, Canada
Muyang Hou, China
Additional Gold Medalists:
Dale Liu, USA
Jianxu Chen, China
Xingzhi Lu, Great Britain
Kseniia Strelbytska, Ukraine
Dawid Kot, Poland
Victor Coen, New Zealand
“Congratulations to all medalists, and to every single contestant who competed at IAIO 2026. You’ve demonstrated to the world that the future of artificial intelligence combines technical brilliance with ethical awareness and social responsibility.” Prof. Dr. John Shawe-Taylor, IAIO President and IRCAI Director
About the IAIO 2026 Competition
The Olympiad unfolded in two rounds. The Scientific Round comprised demanding theoretical questions in mathematics, logic, physics, and data science. In the Practical Round, carried out via the Zindi platform, participants applied their programming skills to tackle real sustainability challenges. Contestants with the highest scores demonstrated that they are able to bring practical solutions closest to their answers in the theoretical round.
Throughout the competition, we encouraged the participants to develop solutions that are fair, inclusive, unbiased and accountable.
“Our goal is to present young people with a broader horizon for the use of artificial intelligence and to demystify it. We want young people to understand that AI can solve real-life problems — and that it must be used responsibly.” said Monika Kropej and Davor Orlić, IAIO’s Competition Directors.
Alongside the competition, participants explored Ljubljana and visited Center Noordung, building international friendships and professional connections that will last well beyond the event.
Beyond the IAIO 2026 Competition
At IRCAI, we are proud to support the next generation of AI professionals who will shape how AI is built. IAIO has become a launching pad for young AI talents to begin their successful careers. Gold medalist Anango Prabhat from Great Britain will begin studying Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence at MIT this autumn, with ambitions to become an AI researcher.
“UNESCO was founded 80 years ago with one of its founding principles being that of creating peace in the minds of the younger generation, bringing people together to meet and understand each other, avoiding the divergence and conflict that arises from misunderstanding. I hope that we have provided a forum within which those kinds of communication and understanding can be developed. We have demonstrated together that AI offers extraordinary opportunities, but also that we need to understand and manage its unintended effects, and use this amazing tool to tackle some of the biggest challenges that humanity is facing.” Prof. Dr. John Shawe-Taylor, IAIO President and IRCAI Director, closing ceremony
The next International AI Olympiad will be hosted by Vietnam in 2027.
Complete results are published on the IAIO’s official website.
