Armenian Students Take Two Bronze Medals at International AI Olympiad in Kazakhstan

Armenian high school students returned from the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence with two bronze medals and a top-five finish in a robotics competition, the country’s strongest performance since joining the contest last year.

Aram Amirkhanyan and Razmik Yepremyan won bronze medals in the individual competition at the Olympiad, held Aug. 2-8 in Astana, Kazakhstan. The event brought together students from 131 countries.

Armenia also made gains in the team competition. One of its two teams finished fifth in the Galbot robotics challenge, improving from 16th place at the 2025 Olympiad in Beijing.

Three other Armenian students — Artyom Hovhannisyan, David Ghazaryan and Gurgen Bayburdyan — received honorable mentions.

This was Armenia’s second appearance at the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence, known as IOAI. After sending its first delegation to Beijing last year, Armenia arrived in Astana with eight students divided into two four-member teams, the largest delegation allowed under the competition’s rules.

The students were selected through Armenia’s first national qualification process for the Olympiad. The Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology, or FAST, organized the selection as the IOAI’s accredited representative in Armenia. A total of 168 students from across the country competed for eight places.

Armenia’s highest-ranking team consisted of Alen Gevorgyan, Amirkhanyan, Seryozha Nazaryan and Vahe Pluzyan. All four attend the Vanadzor Special School with In-Depth Learning of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.

For Amirkhanyan, Nazaryan and Pluzyan, Astana was their second consecutive IOAI. The three also represented Armenia at its debut competition in Beijing, where Amirkhanyan won bronze and became the country’s first medalist at the Olympiad.

The second Armenian team included Hovhannisyan and Bayburdyan of Photon College in Gyumri, Ghazaryan of Vagharshapat High School No. 5 and Yepremyan of Yerevan PhysMath School.

The competition included a preliminary home round, team challenges in simulation and robotics, and an individual round in which students were asked to solve six advanced AI problems.

Several members of the Armenian delegation study through Generation AI, a program that introduces advanced artificial intelligence education in public high schools. The FAST-led initiative is carried out with Armenia’s Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports and currently operates in nearly 40 schools.

The Armenian teams were coached by Tigran Ishkhanyan and Tigran Gabrielyan, AI professionals who also teach through the Generation AI program.

FAST was founded in 2017 to support science, technology and innovation in Armenia. The foundation says its programs have reached more than 29,000 direct and indirect beneficiaries since its establishment.

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