Bangladesh’s four-member artificial intelligence team is competing against nearly 400 students from more than 100 countries at the third International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (IOAI 2026) in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev inaugurated the competition, which is being held from 2 to 8 August, according to a press release.

Professor Dr BM Mainul Hossain of the Institute of Information Technology (IIT) at the University of Dhaka is leading the Bangladesh team.

The competitors are Labib Shahriar, a Class 10 student at Homna Adarsha High School in Cumilla; Md Saiduzzaman Araf, a Class 11 student at Moulvibazar Government College; Onno Jaryf Akond, a Class 11 student at Munnu International School and College; and Mobtasim Chowdhury Priom, a Class 11 student at Notre Dame College.

The first competition round was held on 4 August, requiring participants to solve complex problems related to machine learning, computer vision and natural language processing.

An “AI Model Track” has been introduced for the first time this year. Under the track, AI laboratories and institutions from around the world will use their own models to solve the same competitive problems without human intervention.

After arriving in Astana on 3 August, the Bangladesh team received an official welcome from the organising committee and completed the registration process.

The three gold medals Bangladesh won at the Asia-Pacific AI Olympiad, held on 13 June, were subsequently handed over to the team leader.

Alongside the main competition, the event includes an opening ceremony, visits to tourist attractions and cultural exchange programmes.

This is the third edition of the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence. Following the inaugural competition in Bulgaria in 2024 and the second edition in China in 2025, the olympiad is being held in Central Asia for the first time.

Professor Dr BM Mainul Hossain, team leader, said, “We are delighted to participate in the world’s largest international artificial intelligence olympiad. The opportunity to compete alongside the best students from more than 100 countries will be a unique experience for our students. We are hopeful that Bangladesh will achieve a strong result in this edition.”

The Bangladesh Open Source Network (BdOSN) expressed hope that the team’s participation and success would inspire students and contribute to the advancement of information technology education in the country.

The Bangladesh team is participating in the competition following an official invitation from the Competitive Programming Federation of Kazakhstan and the IOAI 2026 organising committee.

The team was formed with students selected from across the country through the Bangladesh Artificial Intelligence Olympiad, organised by BdOSN.

Activities for the Bangladesh Artificial Intelligence Olympiad began in April. The regional rounds were held in May, followed by the national round at the Bangladesh University of Business and Technology (BUBT) on 16 May.

The final team was selected after an assessment at the national selection camp, held from 20 to 23 May. The students subsequently received around two months of online mentoring and training under the supervision of BdOSN.

BdOSN organised the Bangladesh Artificial Intelligence Olympiad, while BUBT served as its platinum sponsor and hosted the national round. Reve Chat joined the initiative as its powered-by partner.

Brain Station 23 was the gold sponsor, while MillionX Bangladesh and Creative IT were silver sponsors. Bitna served as the bronze sponsor, and the University of Dhaka’s Institute of Information Technology supported the initiative as its knowledge partner.

Kishor Alo and BigganChinta were the magazine partners, while Deepto TV served as the television partner. The Society for the Popularisation of Science, Bangladesh, Rokomari.com and Jadoo PC also supported the initiative as partners.