The 35th International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI2023) will be held for the second time in Hungary this year after the first event in Veszprém, back in 1996. The world’s best young programmers will be matching their skills in Szeged – writes Hungary’s leading gamer and lifestyle magazine, GameStar in its article.

It’s never too late to start, but it’s best to familiarize yourself with algorithms, programming languages, loops, and branches at school, as it allows students to create their own work and qualify for prestigious world competitions like the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI 2023), which is particularly dear to us due to its domestic organization during the Neumann Memorial Year.

You don’t necessarily need ambitions like Elon Musk or Bill Gates to become successful, well-paid, and recognized experts in the field of programming. Thanks to digitalization, the profession is attracting interested people to an unprecedented degree, with companies enticing even beginners with salaries competitive with the market rate.

Since 1989, the event has been hosted annually by different countries, welcoming talented high school students from all around the world who can represent their nations in teams of up to four. The focus here is not on technology but on problem-solving: competitors need to prove their abilities in coding and algorithmic thinking, with the goal of writing the most efficient program (in C++) that only uses as much time and resources as absolutely necessary. They don’t have to work in notepad, as several different development environments are available to choose from, and the organizers facilitate the practice with a pre-assembled, downloadable, and easily executable virtual machine, whose toolkit matches exactly the one used during the competition.

During the eight-day competition from August 28 to September 4, 2023, half of the participants will be awarded a medal, with gold, silver and bronze medals at a ratio of 1:2:3. So not only the absolute best will be awarded, but everyone else who has performed outstandingly. Including helpers, about 400 participants are expected to arrive, who, in addition to giving their best at the Szeged-hosted competition, can explore Szeged and its surroundings, get acquainted with other nations’ cultures, meet and make friends, possibly establishing lifelong connections with young people traveling here from 90 countries around the world.