Artificial Intelligence
SLAIO
Sri Lanka Artificial Intelligence Olympiad
The national AI competition for Sri Lankan high-school students, and the selection for the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence.
- Selects for
- IOAI
- Rounds
- Two
- Born after
- 1 Jul 2006
- Entry fee
- Free
The olympiad
SLAIO is the national olympiad in artificial intelligence. It picks and trains the Sri Lankan team for the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence, the newest of the international science olympiads and the first to put machine learning in front of school students.
There are two rounds. The qualifier is an online programming challenge, and it tests algorithmic thinking rather than AI knowledge, so a good programmer with no machine learning background can get through it. Everyone who makes the shortlist is then trained in AI theory and applications before the final, which is sat in person.
At IOAI 2026 in Astana, Dilina Weragama won a bronze medal and Chanitha Denagama earned an honourable mention. Entry is free.
Who can enter
- Sri Lankan citizens
- Born after 1 July 2006
- Not enrolled in a university degree programme
What it covers
- Algorithms & problem solving
- Machine learning foundations
- Neural networks
- Natural language processing
- Computer vision
- Model training & evaluation
The path
How SLAIO runs
2 competition rounds, each one cutting the field down further.
- 0116 May
Qualifier Round
OnlinePurely a programming contest: logic, algorithms and code. There are no AI questions in this round, so no AI knowledge is needed to get through it.
- 0221 June
Final Round
OnsiteSat in person, and this is where the AI tasks appear. Top performers receive certificates and medals.
Once the team is picked
What happens after the final round, on the way to the IOAI.
Training
Everyone who reaches the final is trained in AI theory and applications first, from the mathematics behind learning to building models by hand.
Team Sri Lanka at the IOAI
The national team sits the scientific and practical rounds of the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence.
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