AI Olymp 2026, a national artificial intelligence olympiad, brought together school students from across Kazakhstan. TrustExam worked with the Competitive Programming Federation (CPFED) to deliver the competition in its system. For programming tasks, the platform provides a built-in IDE where participants can write, compile and run code.
TrustExam is an official partner of the Federation for delivering programming events. This case shows how an exam delivery platform can support competitions that require practical tools for working with code.
About AI Olymp 2026
The official CPFED report describes a competition for students in grades 9–12, with an online selection round followed by a final at Astana IT University. The competition contributes to Kazakhstan’s national-team selection for IOAI, a separate international olympiad.
Both an online selection round and a university-hosted final need a carefully prepared digital environment. In this project, TrustExam supported delivery of the entire olympiad: attendance arrangements depend on the stage, while the platform remains part of the competition workflow.
The challenge: bring competition delivery and coding together
An AI olympiad needs more than an answer form. When a task involves programming, participants need an environment in which they can implement an approach, test a program and correct errors. Organisers must define the available tools and task conditions in advance.
With participation from different regions, the sequence of actions matters: where to open a task, where to work on code and how to complete an attempt. These questions are part of competition preparation alongside task design and scoring criteria.
For this project, TrustExam was the system used to deliver the entire olympiad.
A built-in IDE: from an idea to working code
An IDE is an integrated development environment. In TrustExam, it provides tools for writing, compiling and running a program as part of the platform workflow.
The coding workflow can be understood as a sequence:
Write a solution. Turn the chosen approach into program code.
Compile and run. Check whether the program executes and behaves as intended.
Refine the code. Correct identified errors and check a revised version within the competition rules.
Compilation and execution support practical tasks, while the competition rules define assessment criteria. A successful run does not establish that a solution is correct: organisers need to specify which outputs count and how scores are assigned.
For teams planning a similar olympiad, a real sample task is the best starting point. It provides a basis for agreeing the required programming language, libraries, inputs and execution conditions, and for checking the environment before the main competition.
A shared digital environment across regions
For a national competition, technical preparation is part of the organiser’s work. Participants need to know how to use the platform, which tools are available and where to seek help. A shared system provides a basis for a common set of participant instructions.
For a future event, a useful preparation step is to walk through a sample task as a participant: open the materials, write and run code, and check the completion procedure. A rehearsal can reveal questions about the interface and instructions before a scored round begins.
An AI olympiad needs explicit AI-use rules
The subject of a competition does not automatically determine whether generative assistants are permitted. For an artificial intelligence olympiad, organisers should distinguish between tools that form part of a task and tools that could constitute outside assistance.
The rules should address concrete questions: whether participants may consult documentation, use existing libraries, receive AI suggestions or communicate with others. The policy should match the skill being assessed.
If a competition uses proctoring, its configuration should account for permitted coding activity. A technical flag requires review in the context of the task and the rules. The score for a solution and a decision about rule compliance are separate parts of assessment. Read more in the guide to reviewing proctoring signals and appeals.
The project outcome and the partnership
AI Olymp 2026 was delivered entirely in the TrustExam system together with the Competitive Programming Federation. The project combined nationwide competition delivery with the platform’s tools for working with code.
For organisers, this provides a concrete example of TrustExam supporting a technical olympiad. Its official partnership for delivering programming events adds experience of working with a specialist competition community.
Frequently asked questions
Can a programming olympiad run entirely in TrustExam?
Yes. The AI olympiad described in this case ran entirely in the TrustExam system. Task formats, the execution environment and delivery rules are agreed with the organiser for each new competition.
Does TrustExam include a coding environment?
Yes. The platform includes an IDE for writing, compiling and running code. The required languages and execution conditions should be checked against the tasks for the particular competition.
May AI olympiad participants use AI assistants?
The rules of the particular olympiad determine this. Organisers explain in advance which tools are permitted and which forms of assistance conflict with the task conditions.
What is TrustExam’s role in its partnership with the Federation?
TrustExam is an official partner for delivering programming events. In this project, its system was used to deliver the entire AI olympiad.
Planning an AI or programming olympiad?
Bring a sample task, your development-environment requirements and the rules for external resources. These give the TrustExam team a basis for discussing competition delivery in the system and preparing a trial workflow.
For a step-by-step planning framework, use the online olympiad organiser’s guide. It covers competition rules, participant preparation, interruptions, result review and appeals, so your team can turn a sample task into a tested event workflow.
Discuss your olympiad · TrustExam for olympiads and competitions