COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL SYSTEMS OF OLYMPIADS IN INFORMATICS: EXPERIENCE OF KAZAKHSTAN, SLOVAKIA AND HUNGARY

ABSTRACT

This paper offers a comparative examination of the national Olympiad systems in Informatics for Kazakhstan, Slovakia, and Hungary, focusing specifically on team selection strategies and organizational procedures. The findings indicate that Kazakhstan and Slovakia employ a relatively structured and centralized method for team selection, based on multi-tiered competitions and national evaluation standards, whereas Hungary adopts a more decentralized and diverse competitive model, utilizing various qualifying contests and rigorous rounds. Kazakhstan's system is characterized by its integration with international contests like the Zhautykov Olympiad, which plays a crucial role in team development. Slovakia exhibits consistency and clarity in its advancement from regional to national tiers, whereas Hungary emphasizes past performance and medal status more significantly. The comparative research elucidates the advantages and drawbacks of each method in promoting algorithmic thinking, scalability, and sustained talent development, providing essential insights for nations seeking to enhance their informatics education and competitive strategy.

АННОТАЦИЯ

В данной статье предлагается сравнительный анализ национальных систем олимпиад по информатике для Казахстана, Словакии и Венгрии, уделяя особое внимание стратегиям отбора команд и организационным процедурам. Результаты показывают, что Казахстан и Словакия используют относительно структурированный и централизованный метод отбора команд, основанный на многоуровневых соревнованиях и национальных стандартах оценки, тогда как Венгрия принимает более децентрализованную и разнообразную конкурентную модель, используя различные квалификационные соревнования и строгие раунды. Система Казахстана характеризуется своей интеграцией с международными соревнованиями, такими как олимпиада Жаутыкова, которая играет решающую роль в развитии команды. Словакия демонстрирует последовательность и ясность в своем продвижении от регионального к национальному уровню, тогда как Венгрия больше подчеркивает прошлые результаты и статус медали. Сравнительное исследование выявляет преимущества и недостатки каждого метода в продвижении алгоритмического мышления, масштабируемости и устойчивого развития талантов, предоставляя важные идеи для стран, стремящихся улучшить свое образование в области информатики и конкурентную стратегию.

Keywords: informatics olympiads, national competition systems, IOI, team selection, Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Hungary, programming education

Ключевые слова: олимпиады по информатике, национальные системы соревнований, IOI, отбор команды, Казахстан, Словакия, Венгрия, обучение программированию

The International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI)^[1] is a highly esteemed global competition for secondary school students in computer science. Established in 1989 in Bulgaria, the IOI has evolved into a prominent venue for cultivating emerging talent in algorithms, programming, and computational thinking. Annually, it convenes participants from more than 80 nations, fostering excellence in informatics education and promoting international collaboration and the exchange of best practices.

Kazakhstan commenced its active involvement in the IOI in 1998, when four students represented the nation at the tournament in Portugal. Since that time, Kazakhstan has systematically advanced its national Olympiad framework in Informatics, overseen by the Republican Scientific and Practical Center “Daryn^[2],” which functions under the Ministry of Education and Science [5]. This agency oversees the design, organizing, and coordination of Olympiads in Informatics and other STEM fields, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology.

Kazakhstan achieved a notable milestone by hosting the 27th International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI 2015) at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty, attracting 324 students from 83 nations. This event not only indicated Kazakhstan's increasing prominence in worldwide academic competitions but also represented progress in improving national programming education standards.

This research uses examples from Slovakia and Hungary to explore the origins and development of the Informatics Olympiad system in Kazakhstan, examining its structural frameworks, team selection methodologies, and performance patterns over the past twenty years, with the goal of identifying effective techniques for enhancing the cultivation of informatics talent.

Informatics Olympiads have emerged as essential venues for cultivating algorithmic reasoning and computing abilities among secondary school students. Their implementation across nations differs based on educational policy, technological infrastructure, and historical context; yet, similarities arise in their ability to cultivate talent and enhance national capability in computer science education.

Russia has distinguished itself by integrating informatics into its national curriculum since the 1980s. Students are provided with systematic training on algorithms, binary systems, and data ethics starting in grade 5, facilitating early preparation for Olympiads [7]. Mongolia established a formal informatics education standard incorporating ICT abilities from primary school; nevertheless, implementation has been obstructed by inadequate infrastructure and inconsistent teacher proficiency [3]. In Romania, informatics education commenced in elite high schools during the 1970s and has subsequently proliferated across the country. Nonetheless, diminished curriculum hours and a shortage of trained educators have necessitated remedial training initiatives such as the Centre of Excellence and the Campion online platform [1].

Technological platforms have transformed contest administration. OmegaUp, located in Mexico, is a cloud-based platform that facilitates national and regional programming competitions with safe, automated grading and scalable infrastructure, recognized for enhancing the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) results for the national team [2]. The campion platform in Romania facilitates student practice and competition while also functioning as a professional development resource for educators, incorporating task development and feedback within a nationwide network [1].

Training models exhibit considerable variability. Indonesia and Sri Lanka implement multi-tiered strategies that advance from local selection phases to centralized national training facilities. Indonesia prioritizes collaboration with institutions and utilizes online training to engage students throughout its extensive archipelago, notwithstanding obstacles in ICT accessibility and deficiencies in human resources [10]. Sri Lanka, following the resuscitation of its program in 2018, has implemented LMS tools, international competition platforms, and a dual-division training approach to enhance student development and national team selection [8].

Cultural and historical influences also determine Olympiad success. Eastern European nations have a rich heritage in mathematics competitions, exemplified by Hungary's Eötvös competition established in 1894, which served as a precursor to algorithmic challenges [11]. Bulgaria hosted the inaugural International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) in 1989, demonstrating the region's prominence in computational education [6]. Tatarstan’s localized model integrates university mentorship with high school competitions, facilitating a continuous talent pipeline from primary education to university-level contests [4].

The competitive spirit, systematic mentorship, and recognition promote student motivation and talent development. Participants in the USA Computing Olympiad (USACO) frequently attribute their success to self-directed learning, early exposure to programming, and peer support [9]. In Romania, the teacher's role is pivotal to student achievement, with procedures established to concurrently foster both entities [1].

Notwithstanding these achievements, equity continues to be a challenge. Indonesia, Mongolia, and various low-resource nations encounter difficulties related to internet connectivity, a deficiency of educators, and irregular regional assistance. Nevertheless, advances in such remote learning tools, training centers, and open-access repositories have commenced bridging these disparities. These developments indicate that Informatics Olympiads can serve as both prestigious competitions and comprehensive national initiatives for digital literacy and education.

2. Educational Olympiads in Kazakhstan

Academic Olympiads in Kazakhstan Annually, the Olympiad is conducted by the pertinent educational authorities in four stages during the academic year for each general education subject among students in grades 9–11:

1) The initial stage of the school year must occur before November 30 of the current academic year at secondary education institutions, in accordance with the directives established by the district or city education authority.

2) The second step is conducted by the educational authority at the district or city level.

3) The third regional stage is conducted by the education departments of the regions, the cities of Astana, Almaty, and Shymkent; republican educational organizations, the autonomous educational organisation “Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools”; and the non-profit joint-stock company “Physics-Mathematics State School”.

4) The fourth republican stage involves the segregation of natural-mathematical and social-humanitarian themes across various regions of the republic.

The participants' works at all phases of the Olympiad are submitted to the jury beforehand in encrypted and scanned format. The jury's assessment of the work is conducted in accordance with the evaluation standards established by the organising organisations. The organising committee conveys the results of the appraisal of efforts at the conclusion of each stage.

3. Team Selection for IOI Participation

Criteria for selecting applicants for training camps for participation in the International Olympiad in Informatics. Establishment of the participant makeup for the reserve training camps for the Olympics: the makeup of the training camps is determined by the results of schoolchildren's participation in the final round of the Republican Olympiad. The training camp comprises 12 winners and prize-winners of the Republican Olympiad (honored with first, second, and third-degree diplomas), consisting of pupils from grades 9 to 11 (12) (with identical Olympiad assignments), who achieved the highest scores. Applicants are chosen based on the cumulative points from the Republican Olympiad and the International Zhautykov Olympiad (Table 1). The quantity may be augmented if many individuals achieve identical point totals.

Table 1.

Formation of the composition of the participants in the training camps of the Olympic reserve

Selection for the national squad to participate in the IOI will involve the organisation of 4–5 intermediate Olympiads throughout the qualifying training camps to ensure a rigorous selection process (Table 2). The complexity of the Olympiads at the training camps matches that of the IOI tasks, and the quality of the tasks surpasses that of the International Zhautykov Olympiad and the Republican Olympiad. Each Olympiad will comprise three tasks.

Table 2.

Selection to the national team for participation in the IOI

4. Review of Informatics Olympiad Organization Procedure in Slovakia and Hungary

Slovakia.

The Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic states that the national-level Olympiad in Informatics is administered by a national commission known as the Slovak Olympiad^[3] in Informatics (SK OI). The Slovak National Olympiad in Informatics comprises two categories: A and B. Only students who do not graduate from high school during the present or the subsequent academic year are eligible to join Category B. All pupils, including primary and secondary, are eligible to participate in category A. Category B comprises two phases: domestic and regional. Category A comprises three rounds: (1) Home round – conducted by local educators within educational institutions. Each job in the home round is worth between 0 and 10 points. (2) Regional round – Slovakia comprises 8 regions for this phase. Every region has chairpersons of regional commissions. Upon rectification of the solution, the alignment of scoring scales will occur, the result sheets will be consolidated into a singular countrywide document, and, as she stated, approximately the top 30 solvers will be invited to the national round. (3) The national round is the concluding phase, spanning two days. On the first day, participants address theoretical challenges, while on the second day, they tackle practical problems. The top ten winners will receive invitations to the weekly qualification camps. SK OI will choose teams for the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) and the Central European Olympiad in Informatics (CEOI) depending on their results.

Since 1993, the Slovak team has secured 102 medals in the IOI: 26 gold, 45 silver, and 36 bronze.

Hungary.

Hungary has been one of the inaugural participants in the IOI since 1989. The Hungarian national team for IOICEOI is selected by the John von Neumann Computer Society^[4] (NJSZT) after completing six steps. The subsequent competitions are eligible to participate in the qualifying event for the International Student Olympiad in Computer Science (IOI): (1) National High School Education Competition in Informatics - top 15–20 positions. (2) International programming competition Noble Tihamér - positions 3 to 7 in 10th grade. (3) Olympic qualification competition (prior academic year) - 4 to 6 participants. (4) Izsák Imre Gyula Competition — victor, champion in the domain of information technology. (5) Members of the victorious team at the Dusza Árpád Memorial Programming Contest. A member of the IOI Olympic squad is automatically recognised as a participant who secured a gold medal at the previous year's Olympic Games (CEOI, IOI). A member of the CEOI Olympic squad automatically qualifies as a participant who secured a gold medal at the preceding year's Olympic Games (CEOI) if he or she is a student in the 11th grade or lower. The qualification competition for selecting the Hungarian team for the International Informatics Olympiad is rigorous and comprises six rounds, during which students must complete 18 tasks over three days [12].

Phases of the qualifying competition for IOI-CEOI:

Phase 1 of the competition — including 30 to 40 participants.

Phase 2 of the competition — including 30 to 40 participants.

Phase 3 of the competition — featuring 20 to 25 participants.

Phase 4 of the competition — featuring 15 to 20 participants.

Selection of contenders for the 6–6 Olympic team.

Stage 5 of the competition features 6 to 12 athletes.

Stage 6 of the competition features 6 to 12 athletes.

Selection of members for the 4–4 Olympic team.

Prior to the third day of the competition, participants will engage in online training. The official outcome is established by the Competition Commission prior to the commencement of the current round. Consequently, since 1989, contestants from Hungary have secured 14 gold, 38 silver, and 50 bronze medals.

Conclusion

Kazakhstan has been involved in the IOI since 1998 and has attained notable accomplishments. Currently, Kazakh IOI teams have secured a total of 71 medals, comprising 3 gold, 27 silver, and 41 bronze. The stages of squad selection for the republican and international Olympiads are delineated and contrasted with those of Hungary and Slovakia. Nonetheless, there are challenges with the promotion of the Informatics Olympiads, necessitating measures to disseminate fundamental understanding of informatics by engaging a higher number of students and educational institutions.

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