The sixth edition of the European Junior Olympiad in Informatics – eJOI 2022 was completed. The Bulgarian teams won bronze in the prestigious competition. The Olympics were held remotely with virtual host Kiev, Ukraine, and 173 young people from 33 countries took part.
The Olympics were established in Bulgaria in 2017 and since then attracted an increasing number of young people up to 15.5 years old. This year again, a record was scored in the number of participants. Bulgaria was represented by competitors from Sofia, Pleven and Shumen. The Bulgarian teams are as follows:
First team:
Mihail Mihalev – High School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences “Acad. Ivan Gyuzelev”, Gabrovo
Andrey Stefanov – First Private Mathematical High School, Sofia; School Olympians – bronze medal
Ognyan Yorgov – Sofia Mathematical High School “Paisii Hilendarski”; School Olympians – Honor Certificate
Simona Hristova – High School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences “Nancho Popovich”, Shumen; School А&B – bronze medal
Leaders: Emil Kelevedzhiev and Zornitsa Jenkova from High School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences “Acad. Ivan Gyuzelev”, Gabrovo
Second team:
Viktor Vanev – High School of Mathematics “Geo Milev”, Pleven
Valentin Filipov – High School of Mathematics “Geo Milev”, Pleven – bronze medal
Serkan Rashid – High School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences “Nancho Popovich”, Shumen; School А&B – bronze medal
Ivo Ivanov – High School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences “Nancho Popovich”, Shumen; School А&B
Leaders: Associate Professor Plamenka Hristova from the University of Ruse and Dimitar Dobrev – doctoral student at the University of Shumen and teacher at the A&B School
“The competition was tough, the tasks – quite unconventional. We are proud that the children did their best, despite a challenging first Olympic day. For all of us, we are preparing for the next competitive season, and for the bigger heavy battle for a place in the senior age group,” said Dr. Biserka Yovcheva, Emeritus Professor of the University of Shumen, Head of the A&B School and Co-President of eJOI.
Software company Musala Soft is a co-founder and main partner of eJOI. Elena Marinova, President of Musala Soft and Co-President of eJOI, together with Alexei Hristov, Chairman of the Management Board of the Association of Olympic Teams of Natural Sciences (SOOPN), Dr. Biserka Yovcheva – co-President of eJOI and Prof. Dr. Syed Yovcheva. Krassimir Manev, first president of eJOI are the founders of the 2017 Olympics. in Sofia.
“When we founded eJOI in Bulgaria in 2017 we were filled with the enthusiasm of the new beginning and opportunity for the children of the Council of Europe. Today, after hosting Russia, Slovenia, Georgia, Romania and Ukraine, we are witnessing an established format that starts to go beyond the original geographical frameworks – in 2022 we were visited by teams from Vietnam and Peru, for example.
We are proud that once again we have been able to overcome severe political opposition in order to have a successful race. We thank Ukraine, which in conditions of war was a great host, albeit online. We thank Ukrainians, Russians, Belarusians and the international committee of eJOI, who have managed to find a compromise in the name of all children, who should not bear the burden of adult decisions, but be brought up in freedom, unlimited opportunities for talent and peace. eJOI is an inspiration for young minds, it is a competition that tests algorithmic knowledge, programming skills, stress resistance, ambition and perseverance of young people. eJOI also has a mission to be a uniting beyond politics, economy, distances. We’re happy to make it! “ – said Elena Marinova, President of Musala Soft and co-president of eJOI.