A two-day training workshop titled “IAIO Grooming Camp” concluded at BRAC University on Tuesday (3 November), with 20 students receiving specialised training in artificial intelligence (AI) as part of Bangladesh’s preparations for the International Artificial Intelligence Olympiad (IAIO) 2027.

The workshop was organised by the Bangladesh Open Source Network (BDOSN), in collaboration with BRAC University’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), on 2–3 November, according to a press release.

The participants were selected from 46 contestants who took part in the national round of the Olympiad, held at the Institute of Information Technology (IIT) of the University of Dhaka on 31 October.

Twenty students qualified for the training camp based on their performance in a written mathematics examination and a machine learning competition conducted on the Kaggle platform.

The first day of the workshop focused on the fundamentals of data science and supervised learning. Participants received hands-on training in data analysis, feature engineering, regression, decision trees and support vector machines.

Subsequent sessions covered unsupervised learning, neural networks and fundamental concepts of deep learning, including advanced topics such as attention mechanisms and transformers. The first day concluded with a written examination to assess participants’ understanding.

On the second day, the training focused on model evaluation, computer vision, natural language processing (NLP) and audio processing.

Students were introduced to image classification, object detection, generative models, diffusion models and advanced AI systems for understanding language and speech. All practical exercises were conducted using the PyTorch framework.

Faculty members and researchers from BRAC University’s CSE department conducted the training sessions.

They included Professor Dr Md Golam Rabiul Alam; Associate Professor and Director of the Computer Vision and Intelligent Systems (CVIS) Research Lab Dr Md Ashraful Alam; and Senior Lecturers Md Tanzim Reza and Md Saiful Bari Siddiqui.

Lecturers Polok Nag, Nafiz Imtiaz Rafin, Md Khaliduzzaman Khan Samrat, Sanjida Tasnim and Asif Hasan Chowdhury, along with Research Assistant Md Fahmid-ul-Alam Jubraj, also conducted sessions.

Abdullah Zubayer, an 11th-grade student at Birshreshtha Noor Mohammad College, described the Olympiad as an important opportunity for young learners.

“This Olympiad is a major opportunity for us. It allows us to learn about and work with AI from the school level. We even have opportunities to conduct AI research in collaboration with university professors,” he said.

Another participant, Rafia Anjum from Jashore, shared her experience of the workshop and encouraged greater participation by students, particularly girls.

“I have been learning programming for four years. However, participating in this Olympiad has inspired me even more because of the learning environment and the teachers. I have learnt a great deal from the mentors,” she said.

“Previously, I did not fully understand how to solve problems or apply what I had learnt. I want more students, especially girls, to participate in this Olympiad. Students outside Dhaka should also have opportunities to learn AI and take part in the competition,” she added.

The workshop concluded on 3 November with a seminar and closing ceremony.

Distinguished Professor Dr Mohammad Kaykobad of BRAC University, CSE Department Chairperson and Associate Professor Dr Sadia Hamid Kazi, and Associate Professor Dr Md Ashraful Alam attended the closing ceremony.

Bangladesh AI Olympiad Team Coach and Daffodil International University Associate Professor Dr Mohammad Azam Khan, from the Department of Computing and Information Systems, was also present.

Addressing the participants, Dr Sadia Hamid Kazi encouraged students to continue developing their skills and applying their knowledge to solve real-world problems.

“Thank you for taking the initiative to learn independently and solve problems. However, you must remember that learning cannot stop here. It needs to be a continuous process,” she said.

“We currently face a shortage of skilled professionals. As the next generation, you must develop your capabilities. Otherwise, our efforts will not bring meaningful results. Continue improving your skills and think about solving the problems facing our country,” she added.

Dr Md Ashraful Alam expressed optimism about the students’ potential.

“A great deal of effort and cooperation from many people has gone into this initiative. I hope you will make the most of these opportunities to sharpen your skills and achieve something meaningful. I wish everyone success,” he said.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Dr Mohammad Azam Khan praised the participants’ abilities and expressed confidence in their future performance.

“There is considerable talent among these students. The entire nation is looking towards us. I am very optimistic about the students,” he said.

The participating students will sit for the final team selection test on 6–7 November at the Institute of Information Technology of the University of Dhaka.

Students who qualify through the final selection process will represent Bangladesh at the International Artificial Intelligence Olympiad in Vietnam, beginning on 25 February 2027.

The Olympiad is an international competition for school and college students, where participants from different countries solve theoretical and practical problems involving machine learning, deep learning and related fields.

Bangladesh is preparing to participate in the competition for the third time.

The Institute of Information Technology of the University of Dhaka is serving as the knowledge and venue partner for the national selection process.