#Malaysia wins 1 silver, 2 bronze at IOAI 2026, Astana

Astana, Kazakhstan - Aug 8, 2026 Sat

Malaysia sent four students to the 3rd International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (IOAI), held from Aug 2 - 8, 2026 in Astana, Kazakhstan. All four students did well, returning with 1 silver medal, 2 bronze medals and 1 honourable mention. The individual contest brought together 440 contestants, with 103 countries and territories represented at the olympiad.

At IOAI 2026, students first completed at-home practice tasks, then solved six difficult AI tasks over two on-site contest days of six hours each. The first three tasks on Day 1 build upon the official at-home tasks distributed in advance, while the final three tasks on Day 2 are fresh problems unrelated to previously distributed material. Medals were distributed among the top performers: 37 gold, 73 silver and 110 bronze, along with 62 honourable mentions.

#Malaysia at IOAI 2026

Malaysia returned from Astana with one silver medal, two bronze medals and one honourable mention. Every member of the four-student team received an individual award.

The Malaysian team roster, listed below in alphabetical order:

1. Chon Feng Qi (Bronze medal)
2. Lee Yan Zee (Silver medal)
3. Low Yu Xuan (Bronze medal)
4. Tan Zen Ee (Honourable mention)
5. Tan Nian Wei (Team leader)

#The 2026 selection season

Malaysia’s 2026 season began with the first fully in-person MAIO final, held in Kuala Lumpur. Thirty-seven students took part in a full day of hands-on AI challenges after progressing through the online qualifiers.

Students who performed well at MAIO continued to the Training and Selection Programme. Twenty-three students sat the inaugural Malaysian Invitational Examination (MIE), from which the top eight qualified to represent Malaysia at the inaugural Asia-Pacific Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (APOAI). MIE and APOAI scores were combined 50:50 to select the four students who represented Malaysia at IOAI in Astana. See our MIE 2026 and APOAI 2026 post for the full selection results.

#National team training camp

Following selection, the four students gathered at a team house in Kuala Lumpur for a three-day national team training camp immediately before departing for Astana.

We thank the students and their families for the dedication and support that carried the team from MAIO to Astana. We look forward to seeing more bright minds participate in our training and selection programme for the upcoming 2027 season.

References:

• Official IOAI website
• Official IOAI 2026 Astana results

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Citation:

@misc{ioai2026results,
    title        = {Malaysia wins 1 silver, 2 bronze at IOAI 2026, Astana},
    author       = {Tan, Nian Wei},
    year         = {2026},
    howpublished = {Blog},
    url          = {https://aiolympiad.my/posts/ioai-2026-results},
}