Free of charge
Open to every student in the country
Three rounds
Anonymous, machine-graded
Answer sheets carry only a six-character student code, not the student's name, and are graded by machine. Scientific committee members have no access to student identities during grading.
IOAI · Afghanistan 2027
International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence — Afghanistan National Selection 2027
- Free of charge
- Open to every student in the country
- Three rounds
Official IOAI accreditation
BANFES Limited (Blockchain and AI Non-Formal Education System) is the sole IOAI-accredited organization for Afghanistan under Certificate of Accreditation No. 183, issued 27 August 2026, and is responsible for selecting and sending the national team.
Download certificate PDF1
About the competition
The International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (IOAI) is an international science olympiad in AI for high school students. The first edition was held in Bulgaria in 2024 with teams from more than thirty countries.
Afghanistan takes part for the first time in the 2027 edition. The national team is selected from students across the whole country through the three-round process described on this page.
- Team
- 4 students + 2 reserves
- Cost to students
- Free of charge
- Selection rounds
- Three
- Team announced
- 20 May 2027
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Eligibility
Age
20 years or younger on 1 July 2027.
Education
enrolled full-time in primary or secondary education on or after 1 December 2026. Home-schooled and non-formally educated students are also eligible, provided they have not received a high-school diploma and are working toward one.
Residency
resident in Afghanistan and receiving education in the country.
Open to all students
The competition is open to every student in the country regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, province of residence, or economic circumstances. No prior qualification and no school nomination is required.
Students whose formal schooling has been interrupted may also register. For any question about eligibility, contact us before the registration deadline.
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National selection calendar
- 1
5 September – 1 October 2026
Registration
Free online registration. Each registrant receives a six-character student code by email.
- 2
1 – 10 October 2026
Answer sheets sent
OMR answer sheets are emailed to all registrants. If yours has not arrived by 10 October, contact [email protected].
- 3
15 October 2026
Round 1: Mathematics, statistics and probability
Online multiple-choice (OMR) exam, open to all registrants, in a 4-hour window. Students may complete the answer sheet on a phone, photograph it and submit it within the same window — no printer is required. Free weekly mock exams are held in the run-up to this round.
- 4
20 October 2026
Round 1 results
Published as a searchable list by student code in the BANFES system.
- 5
15 March 2027
Round 2: AI and mathematics
Introductory Python, machine learning, robotics, and a multiple-choice section. Held in person at provincial centers — there is an exam center in every province and students sit the exam in their own province, so no inter-provincial travel is required. Free preparation courses are offered beforehand.
- 6
20 March 2027
Round 2 results
List of students advancing to Round 3, by student code.
- 7
15 May 2027
Round 3: Final AI exam
Olympiad-level tasks based on the IOAI syllabus. All shortlisted students sit the exam at a single center. Travel to and from the center is paid for every student, including the return journey of those who are not selected for the team.
- 8
20 May 2027
National team announced
Four team members and two reserves.
- 9
From 20 May 2027
Training camp, Kabul
Intensive preparation for the international competition. Accommodation, living costs and all classes are covered by BANFES.
If any date changes, this page is updated promptly.
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Transparency and assessment
Advancement criteria
Selection at each round is by score ranking alone. The number of students advancing from each round is set after registration closes, in proportion to the number of participants, and is published on this page before that round's exam.
Publication of results
Results of all rounds are published as a searchable list in the BANFES system. To protect student safety, the public list uses student codes; each student can view their own score using their personal code.
Final team
The four highest-scoring students in Round 3 form the team; the next two are named as reserves.
Scientific committee
Abdul Razaq Vahidi — Chair. President of the Afghanistan Mathematical Association and an AI researcher at the University of Stuttgart, Germany. Further members will be listed here as they are confirmed.
[email protected]5
Cost
No fee of any kind is charged to students at any stage — registration, exams, preparation courses, or the training camp.
- Round 1 is online and requires no travel.
- Round 2 is held in the student's own province.
- Travel to and from the Round 3 center is paid for every shortlisted student, including the return journey of those not selected for the team.
- Accommodation, living costs and classes at the Kabul training camp are covered.
The national selection process is funded by BANFES Limited.
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Exam centres
Round 1 is entirely online and requires no travel.
Round 2 is held at provincial centers; there is a center in every province and students sit the exam in their own province.
Round 3 is held at a single center, with travel costs paid for all shortlisted students.
For security reasons the exact addresses of the centers are not published publicly; they are emailed directly to the students who advance.
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Registration
Registration is open 5 September – 1 October 2026
Registration is free. Read how to fill the form below, then open it. After you send it you receive a six-letter student code and the Round 1 answer sheet by email.
How to fill the form
Use a real email you can open now. You must be 20 or under on 1 July 2027 (10 Saratan 1406), in primary or secondary education (including home or remote study toward a high-school diploma), and resident of Afghanistan and studying in Afghanistan.
Have these ready
- A photo or copy of your tazkira or passport
- A 3/4 photo on a white background
- A phone that can show the code sent to your email
- The name of your city
1. Email and the code — required
Write your email, tap send code, open your inbox, and type the 6-digit code into the form. Without this code the form will not send. Write the same email again later in the email box.
2. Personal details
- First name / last name
- As on your official ID
- Name in English
- English letters only
- Father’s name
- As on your tazkira
- Gender
- Male or Female
- Grade
- Your current class
- Phone
- Write it like 0700123456 or +93700123456, with English numbers.
- Telegram
- Your Telegram name or number
- Shamsi date of birth
- From the Shamsi calendar, for example 1385/02/02
- Gregorian date of birth
- From the Gregorian calendar
- Province
- Choose your province from the list
- Country
- Usually Afghanistan
- Tazkira number
- Optional, for example 1400-7654321
- Volume and page
- Optional
- Electronic tazkira
- Required — for example 1400-1234-56789
- Passport
- Optional — for example P123456789
- Passport expiry
- Optional
- Last class finished
- The last class you completed
- Years out of school
- How many years, or 0
- Computer or phone
- Yes or No
- Notes
- Required — write - if you have nothing to add
3. Your place — required
Tap the button to share your place and allow it, or type the name of your city. Do not leave this empty.
4. Photos — required
- A photo or copy of your tazkira or passport
- A 3/4 photo on a white background
- If the form shows a problem and says the photos are already there, do not choose them again.
- On a slow phone, wait until both photos finish, then send.
5. Pledge and send
- Read the pledge and tick that you accept it.
- Tap send. Do not close the page.
- Keep the six-letter student code. Results are shown by code, not by name.
- If the answer sheet has not arrived by 18 Mizan 1405 (10 October 2026), write to us from the contact section.
After you register
- 14 Sunbola – 9 Mizan 1405
- Registration
- 9 – 18 Mizan 1405
- Answer sheets sent
- 23 Mizan 1405
- Round 1 (maths, statistics, probability) — online, 4 hours
- 24 Hoot 1405
- Round 2 in your own provincial centre
- 25 Sawr 1406
- Round 3
- 30 Sawr 1406
- National team announced (4 + 2 reserves)
If something goes wrong
- The email code does not arrive
- Look in other mail folders; send the code again; try another email
- The phone number is not accepted
- Write 0700123456 or +93700123456 with English numbers
- Place is not accepted
- Type the name of your city
- Photos disappeared after a problem
- If the form says they are already there, leave them. Only change them if you want a new photo.
- The page says it is sending
- Wait. Do not tap send again.
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Contact
Write to
Rohullah Mohsini
Student enquiries
Official contacts
Murtaza Akbari
National Coordinator
Abdul Razaq Vahidi
Chair, Scientific Committee
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Previous cycles
2027 is Afghanistan's first cycle. After each cycle concludes, a summary of the selection process actually used, the team's results at IOAI, and acknowledgement of grants and supporters will be published and archived in this section.