Hanoi (VNA) — Vietnam’s national team put up a fantastic result, placing in the top four at the 2024 International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) in the overall medal standings, following the US, Japan and Poland.
According to an announcement from the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) September 6, the Vietnamese team comprised four students, all of whom secured medals, including two gold, one silver and one bronze medals.
All four medalists are students from the High School for Gifted Students at the University of Natural Sciences under Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
The gold medals were won by 12th grader Pham Cong Minh and 11th grader Hoang Xuan Bach.
The silver medal was awarded to Nguyen Huu Tuan, a 10th grader, while the bronze medal went to 12th grader Pham Ngoc Trung.
The 36th IOI was held in Alexandria, Egypt from September 1-6, drawing 353 participants from 91 countries and territories.
Additionally, nine students from Israel, Iran and Germany competed online.
According to the 2024 IOI Council regulations, the competition was held on two official exam days.
During each day, participants were tasked with solving three programming problems within a five-hour window.
The results were assessed by an automated online system, with scores updated in real-time throughout the competition.
This year’s exam was notably challenging, requiring students to tackle cutting edge programming problems in real time against the other teams.
As digital technology continues to advance, countries are investing more heavily in their teams, leading to increased competition at the prestigious event.
A representative from the MoET’s Quality Management Department observed that the 2024 IOI exam was particularly challenging, requiring contestants to apply programming knowhow and demonstrate significant creativity.
Vietnam's outstanding performance at IOI 2024 reaffirms the country's educational strength on the global stage and highlights the ministry’s effective strategy for identifying, selecting, and nurturing top talents.
The IOI 2024 closing and awarding ceremony was held on September 6, starting at 7:00 pm (Egyptian time).
Last year, the Vietnamese IOI team tanked among the top nine with one gold, two silver and one bronze medals. They included three students from the High School for Gifted Students of the University of Science under the Vietnam National University, Hanoi, and one from the Hung Vuong High School for Gifted Students in Phu Tho province.
The IOI is an annual competitive programming contest for high school students, first held in 1989. Each country or territory can send up to four contestants to the event.
Vietnam has been part of the IOI since its inception in 1989 and has consistently performed well. Notably, in 1999, the Vietnamese team ranked first overall at the IOI held in Turkey, competing against 67 other nations and territories. The team earned three gold and one silver medals, marking their best performance in the history of Vietnam’s particiation./.
