International Software Engineering Olympiad PROD is an annual academic competition for high school students (grades 8–12) from a broad range of countries. The Olympiad consists of several stages and includes an online examination, as well as team-based development of practical business solutions for major technology companies. Winners are awarded grants and receive advantages in the university admissions process.
History The Olympiad was first held from January to April 2024. Approximately 4,000 students from Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and China took part in the qualification round. Forty-three participants were named winners or prize-holders.
The second season was held from December 2024 to March 2025. More than 4,000 Russian-speaking high school students from Russia, Belarus, and 22 additional countries — including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, and China — participated. A total of 235 students advanced to the final round in Moscow. Finalist teams developed IT products such as a platform for data-analysis competitions, a book-exchange service, a loyalty-program system for a bank's partners, a mentor-matching platform, a film-recommendation service, and a coworking-space booking solution. 17 students were named winners, and 40 additional participants received prizes.
Beginning in 2025, the Olympiad has been conducted in two languages: Russian and English.
The event is organized by Central University and the T-Technologies Group in partnership with the Faculty of Computer Science at HSE University.
Structure All stages of the Olympiad, except for the final, are conducted online. Registration (late October to early December). First qualification stage: an online examination assessing foundational knowledge in mathematics and programming (December). Second qualification stage: online tasks within one selected track — frontend, backend, mobile development, or MLOps engineering (January). Final stage: Individual online round: development of a small-scale project (February). In-person team round: creation and defense of an IT solution in collaboration with teammates and mentors (March). Awards ceremony (March).
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