The International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) 2026 has begun in Tashkent. Students from various countries are competing for the title of the world's best young programmers, and Telegram has prepared special digital collectible awards for the winners called 'Algorithm Trophies.'
IOI is recognized as one of the most important global competitions in the field of student programming. Many participants in these competitions later become employees of major technology corporations; among such former prize winners are specialists from the Telegram team.
Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, previously emphasized the importance of such contests for discovering high-caliber talent. This year, Telegram decided to support IOI participants by presenting digital collectible 'Algorithm Trophies' to the 235 most successful students. The total value of these prizes amounts to $117 thousand.
The choice of the Olympiad venue holds deep symbolic significance, as Uzbekistan is the birthplace of Al-Khwarizmi—a distinguished scholar whose name became the basis for the term 'algorithm.'
The competition has already started and promises to be a period of intense confrontation of ideas, logic, and program code. Victory will go to the one whose algorithm proves to be superior. The tournament is scheduled until August 16, and representatives from 97 countries have participated, including 386 talented students.
