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Recently, the Education Bureau officially released the “List of National Competition Activities,” which includes 36 national competitions across three major categories: natural science literacy, comprehensive human literacy, and arts and sports. Today, I will provide a detailed explanation of one of the natural science literacy competitions, the Informatics Olympiad.
Competition Background
The National Youth Computer Programming Competition was established
In 1984, Deng Xiaoping pointed out: “The popularization of computers must start from children.” The China Computer Federation established the National Youth Computer Programming Competition (abbreviated as: NOI) in 1984.
International Olympiad in Informatics
In 1989, under the advocacy of UNESCO, the first International Olympiad in Informatics (abbreviated as: IOI) was successfully held in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. The development of the Informatics Olympiad has closely linked NOI and IOI, making it an important competition event of IOI.
One of the 36 national competitions
On September 7, 2021, the Ministry of Education’s official website released the “Notice on the Announcement of National Competition Activities for Primary and Secondary School Students for the 2021-2022 Academic Year,” stating that NOI is one of the natural science literacy competitions.
Path to Advancement
1. Register for CSP-J/S Certification
For beginners, the first step is to register for CSP-J/S certification.
CSP-J/S consists of two stages: the first round and the second round.The first round (every September) tests general and practical computer science knowledge, primarily through written exams, with some provinces using practical exams for certification.The second round (every October) focuses on programming, which must be debugged on a computer. Those who perform well in the first round can enter the second round, and after the second round, CCF will issue certification based on the results and the given score line.
Those who excel in CSP-J/S can participate in the provincial selection for NOI, and those who perform well in the provincial selection can participate in NOI.
2. National Youth Informatics Olympiad (NOIP)
The National Youth Informatics Olympiad (abbreviated as NOIP) is a provincial league organized by the China Computer Federation every year, based on provinces and cities. It is held in December each year.
NOIP is organized by commissioners at different locations at the same time. There is a unified syllabus and exam paper across the country. Students from junior high schools, high schools, or other secondary vocational schools can register for the league.
The league consists of two stages: preliminary and final rounds.The preliminary round tests general and practical computer science knowledge, primarily through written exams.The final round focuses on programming, which must be debugged on a computer. Participants in the preliminary round must achieve a certain score to qualify for the final round. The league is divided into two groups: the popular group and the advanced group, with different difficulty levels aimed at junior high and high school students, respectively.
3. Provincial Team Selection (Provincial Selection)
This is generally held in March or April each year. The provincial team list is determined based on NOIP results and the provincial selection (one or two rounds) results. Weaker provinces determine their teams based on NOIP results (Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia). The provincial team consists of about 5-16 members (depending on the strength of each province) who participate in the national finals, and each province has C and D level contestants who can participate in the NOI invitation competition, with D level requiring approval from the China Computer Federation.
4. Asia Pacific Olympiad (APIO)
The Asia Pacific Informatics Olympiad (APIO) is generally held in May each year, hosted by different countries in rotation. Each participating team can have up to 100 contestants, with the top 6 contestants representing the team for score statistics. The APIO China division is organized by the China Computer Federation.
APIO has a lower threshold for participation, moderate difficulty, and wide influence; students can use APIO to enhance their skills and adaptability in preparation for the more challenging National Youth Informatics Olympiad (NOI).
5. National Youth Informatics Olympiad (NOI)
The National Youth Informatics Olympiad (NOI) is the highest level competition for provincial representative teams in China, including Hong Kong and Macau, with 5 contestants selected from each province each year (one of whom must be female), organized by the China Computer Federation in cities with good computer education. This competition records individual scores as well as team totals.
Contestants in the national competition are all members of the aforementioned provincial teams, and the competition format is similar to the advanced group final round of NOIP, lasting 2 days with 3 problems each day for 5 hours, but the difficulty is much higher than that of the league and has been increasing year by year.
The top 50 contestants are selected for the national training team.
6. National Winter Camp (WC)
The National Youth Informatics Olympiad Winter Camp (abbreviated as WC) is generally held in January or February. It is a competition for the training team to select 15 from 50 (national reserve team), and contestants from each province can also participate as unofficial contestants.
7. National Team Selection Competition (CTSC)
This competition selects contestants for the Chinese representative team for the International Olympiad in Informatics (abbreviated as the selection competition). The IOI contestants are selected from the top 20 contestants of NOI, with the top 4 winners representing China in international competitions. The selection subjects include: NOI results, winter camp results, papers and defenses, regular assignments, selection competition results, and oral exams. The final score is weighted based on these items.
8. International Competition (IOI)
The International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) is generally held in the summer each year. Each team sends four contestants to compete, using the ACM competition format.
Path to Advancement: CSP-J/S→NOIP→Provincial Selection→APIO→NOI→WC→CTSC→IOI
Advantages for Higher Education
After introducing the background and advancement process of NOI, I believe parents are most concerned about the advantages of informatics competitions for higher education. Below, I will elaborate on this.
1. For middle school entrance exam students
Informatics competitions can increase the chances of children becoming students with technology specialties. The admission ratio for technology demonstration students in various provinces has significantly increased, and traditional prestigious schools have always had a demand for students with technology specialties. These two aspects fully demonstrate the advantages of informatics competitions for children’s middle school entrance exams.
In 2021, the South China Normal University Affiliated High School released the enrollment guidelines for the innovation class, which clearly mentioned that the selection principles for the innovation class are:
1. Strong innovative spirit and practical ability,outstanding performance in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and information subjects. 2. Strong comprehensive quality, with outstanding performance in moral character, learning ability, physical and mental development, artistic literacy, and social practice. 3. Excellent academic performance, achieving outstanding results in the junior high school academic level examination.
From the enrollment guidelines, it is clear that the school values the informatics discipline and the demand for talents in this field.
2. For domestic college entrance exam students
After 2020, the Ministry of Education issued a document abolishing the independent enrollment policy for colleges and universities, replaced by the “Strong Foundation Program” implemented by 36 key universities.
Taking Peking University as an example, one of the conditions for applying for the “Strong Foundation Program” is:For candidates who have achieved second prize or above in the national finals of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and informatics national student subject Olympiads, their college entrance examination scores must meet the minimum control score line for undergraduate admission in their province to qualify for the corresponding province’s strong foundation program assessment.
Other universities participating in the “Strong Foundation Program” have similar application requirements, which is very important recognition and support for candidates participating in informatics competitions.
3. For international students
Informatics competitions are also very beneficial for applications to prestigious schools abroad.
Informatics competitions are one of the five disciplines supported by UNESCO for international Olympiads (mathematics, physics, chemistry, informatics, biology).
In terms of the number of participating countries and regions, it is the second largest subject competition, second only to the International Mathematical Olympiad.
For students, it cultivates comprehensive qualities and enhances multiple disciplines and aspects, especially in developing computational thinking and innovative abilities.
In the United States, the equivalent of the domestic NOI informatics competition is the United States Computing Olympiad (USACO), which has similar competition content and rules to the domestic NOI and holds multiple selection competitions each year, divided into bronze, silver, gold, and platinum awards. Both NOI and USACO aim to select talents for IOI.
Students who achieve certain results in the NOI informatics competition will undoubtedly enhance their background!
