Swiss Olympiad in Informatics

Qualification Round

Pick your favourite programming language and solve the tasks of the first round online.

Tasks for the contest 2025

The Qualification Round is conducted online. It starts on 15 September 2024 and ends on 30 November 2024. Everyone who satisfies the conditions of participations can participate. There are two categories: junior and regular. If you can participate this year and the following two more years, you are eligible for the junior round. The five tasks are chosen to promote creativity and good ideas – prior knowledge in programming and algorithms is useful, but not required.

Workshops

The graph lecture during the workshops.

Main page for the workshops

The workshops teach you everything you need to know to the tasks of the first round. You’ll learn about C++ and algorithmic problem solving. The workshops can be attended free of charge. No matter how much background knowledge you have, you will certainly benefit.

Sarnen Camp

Group picture in 2023 in Sarnen

The Sarnen camp is a week-long training camp for top 16 participants from the regular round, the top 8 participants of the junior round and some guest countries. There are lectures, practice tasks and training contests, but there is also ample time to meet the other participants and have lots of fun.

Finals

All participants of the Qualification Round which qualify for the SOI-camp also qualify for the Finals. Participation at the camp is not mandatory for participation in the Finals.

The Finals consists of two parts:

• 2P (800pts, practical): Two practical exams of 5 hours each.
• 2H (200pts, “homework”): solve some full-feedback training tasks starting from December 1st

Team Selection

The top 12 finalists are invited to the Team Selection in Bern and Zürich. Additionally, wild cards can be given, usually there are 15 participants in total. At the Team-Selection, the delegations for the IOI and other international contests and training camps are selected.

During the Team Selection there are four practical programming contests that are held on two times two days in Bern and Zürich. We recommend to use the C++ programming language, though Python is also allowed; these two are the only languages allowed at the Team-Selection and at IOI.

IOI

Two bronze medals for Switzerland at IOI 2019 in Baku

IOI 2025

Over 80 nations send their 4 best students to compete in the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI). The IOI is the most important, but not the only international event where the best participants of the SOI can meet, exchange and compete with other teenagers.