Cyprus took part for the first time in the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence, with the country’s eight-member team winning four bronze medals and two honourable mentions at IOAI 2026 in Astana, Kazakhstan.
The students competed in a demanding international competition featuring participants from around the world.
The Cyprus delegation was organised through a collaboration between Neapolis University Pafos, JetBrains, the JetBrains Foundation and the Cyprus Computer Society. JetBrains served as the national coordinator for the Olympiad.
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.
More than 100 students took part in selection
The team was selected through an open process, with more than 100 students from public and private schools registering to participate.
Participation was free and did not require previous preparation. Students were selected based on their performance.
Preparation began in November 2025 with online lessons and exercises in Machine Learning. At the beginning of 2026, the 30 highest-performing students took part in the AI Winter Cyprus Camp in Pafos.
This was followed by four months of intensive preparation. In July, the AI Summer Camp was held in Pafos, where the eight students who would make up Cyprus’ two teams were selected.
Four bronze medals and two honourable mentions
The first team 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.
The second team comprised Petros Vourmas, Alexandros Ktoris, Sotiris Savva and Artem Iankin, led by Sergey Shashkov.
Petros Vourmas and Alexandros Ktoris won bronze medals, while Sotiris Savva received an honourable mention.
Two-day competition tested AI skills
The competition lasted two days, with six hours of individual examination each day.
The tasks covered programming, data analysis and Machine Learning, with the difficulty level considered high for school-age students.
Natalia Kitaeva of JetBrains contributed to the organisational coordination. Educational support was provided by Alexander Avdiushenko, Svyatoslav Suglobov, Danila Biktimirov, Nikita Magomedeminov and Rodion Chvorostov.
Suglobov and Shashkov accompanied the teams to Astana.
Plans to expand participation
The initiative 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 the teams’ preparation.
The first AI Olympiad participation establishes an open selection and training process for students interested in Artificial Intelligence.
The organisers’ goal for next year is to expand participation and strengthen the involvement of Cyprus’ academic community.
Also read: “I may not have Cypriot blood, but I’m proud Cypriot”
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