Cyprus makes its first appearance at the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence, winning 4 bronze medals and 2 honourable mentions

Cyprus took part in the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence for the first time, winning four bronze medals and two honourable mentions. The eight students of the Cyprus delegation represented the country at IOAI 2026 in Astana, Kazakhstan, competing in a demanding international field alongside participants from around the world.

The mission was carried out through collaboration between Neapolis University Pafos, JetBrains, the JetBrains Foundation, and the Cyprus Computer Society. JetBrains served as the national coordinator of IOAI in Cyprus. The Steering Committee included Professor Savvas Chatzichristofis of Neapolis University Pafos as Chair, Panikos Masouras of the Cyprus Computer Society, and Alexander Avdiushenko of JetBrains.

Selection of the team was based on an open process. More than 100 students from public and private schools registered to take part. Participation was free of charge and required no prior preparation. Selection was based on performance.

Training began in November 2025 with online lessons and machine learning exercises. In early 2026, the 30 highest-performing students joined the AI Winter Cyprus Camp in Paphos. Four months of intensive preparation followed, and in July the AI Summer Camp took place in Paphos, where the eight students who formed the two Cyprus teams were selected.

Cyprus Team 1 consisted of Amir Daiyrov, Christos Alexandrou, Artyom Konukhov and Mariia Shilo, led by Svyatoslav Suglobov. Amir Daiyrov and Christos Alexandrou won bronze medals, while Artyom Konukhov received an honourable mention.

Cyprus Team 2 consisted of Petros Vourmas, Alexandros Ktoris, Soteris Savva and Artem Iankin, led by Sergey Shashkov. Petros Vourmas and Alexandros Ktoris won bronze medals, while Soteris Savva received an honourable mention.

The competition lasted two days, with six hours of individual examination each day. The tasks covered programming, data analysis and machine learning. The level of difficulty was high for students of school age.

Natalia Kitaeva of JetBrains contributed to the organisational coordination. The programme’s educational support was provided by Alexander Avdiushenko, Svyatoslav Suglobov, Danila Biktimirov, Nikita Magomedeminov and Rodion Chvorostov. The teams were accompanied in Astana by Svyatoslav Suglobov and Sergey Shashkov.

The effort was also supported by Leptos Group and LEPTOS ESTATES, The Island Private School and Technology Leaders of the Future. Neapolis University Pafos hosted the intensive stages of preparation.

This participation establishes an open process for selecting and training students in the field of artificial intelligence. The goal for next year is to broaden participation and strengthen the involvement of Cyprus’s academic community.