National Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence - AI Singapore Skip to content National Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence About NOAI National Olympiad in AI (NOAI) is a key initiative under AI Singapore’s mission to develop local AI talent from foundation to frontier. We believe in providing early access to AI learning, when talent can be discovered and nurtured. NOAI aligns with and supports Singapore’s National AI Strategy 2.0, contributing to a strong and steady pipeline of AI-savvy individuals who can play meaningful roles in our digital economy. At its core, NOAI is about building both capability and confidence. It goes beyond theory by exposing students to real-world AI problems and encouraging hands-on problem-solving and experimentation. The competition covers essential AI domains, including Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Computer Vision, and Programming. NOAI marks the beginning of a longer journey from the national stage potentially to the global arena through the International Olympiad in AI (IOAI). Ultimately, NOAI is not just about winning, it’s about cultivating growth, a forward-thinking mindset, and resilience. 2026 FAQ Learning Resources Awardees IOAI NOAI 2026 & IOAI 2026: Important Dates & Milestones *NOTE: All Dates are TENTATIVE. More information will be released progressively. Interest to Participate Window Schools are invited to indicate interest to participate from 15 September 2025 to 28 November 2025 Email Address: learn-admin@aisingapore.org Each school will have an appointed teacher representative who will serve as the point of contact for issues pertaining to registration and participation. No individual request from students will be entertained. Students should reach out to the appointed teacher representative for their schools to indicate their interest to participate. Why the Interest to Participate Window Matters With only 150 seats available for the NOAI finals, advance planning is crucial. Your indication of interest helps us: Allocate seats fairly among participating schools based on the number of schools Coordinate the preliminaries with participating schools Plan the logistics effectively for both preliminaries and final Eligibility Full-time students below the age of 20 currently enrolled in the following MOE Schools regardless of nationality: Secondary Integrated Programme (IP) Junior College Institute of Technical Education (ITE) Polytechnic NOAI is an individual competition, there is no team-based competition. Home-schooled Singapore Citizens (SC)/ Singapore Permanent Residents (SPR) are eligible to participate. 33 Schools that are Participating as of 10th Feb 2026 Anderson Serangoon JC Anglo-Chinese JC Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) Beatty Secondary School Bedok Green Secondary School Bukit Batok Secondary School Cedar Girls’ Secondary School Clementi Town Secondary School Dunman High School Eunoia JC Greendale Secondary School Hwa Chong Institution Jurong Pioneer JC Methodist Girls’ School Montfort Secondary School Nanyang Girls’ High School National JC New Town Secondary School Ngee Ann Secondary School NUS High School of Mathematics and Science Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary) Raffles Institution School of Science and Technology, Singapore St. Andrew’s School (Secondary) St. Joseph’s Institution Tampines Meridian JC Victoria JC Zhonghua Secondary School Ngee Ann Polytechnic Nanyang Polytechnic Republic Polytechnic Singapore Polytechnic Temasek Polytechnic NOAI Preliminary Round Given the high level of interest in past NOAI editions, a Preliminary Round will be introduced to assist schools in identifying their most promising students. The top 150 performers from this round will advance to NOAI 2026. Date: Refer to Important Dates & Milestones Start Time: 9:30am Duration: 3 hours + 5 mins for administrative matters Format: Online Google Form Quiz – 300 MCQs Venue: Individual School’s Computer Lab Areas of Assessment: Mathematics: Linear Algebra, Calculus, Probability, Optimisation Computing: Python, NumPy / Pandas, PyTorch, Debugging AI/ML/DL: Classical ML, Neural Networks, Computer Vision, NLP, GenAI Problem Solving: Algorithm Design, Debugging, Optimisation, System Design NOAI 2026 Final Assessment Date: Refer to Important Dates & Milestones Registration Start Time: 8am @ NTU Tan Chin Tuan Lecture Theature Briefing Time: 8:30am Competition Start Time: 9:30am Duration: 3 hours Venue: Nanyang Technological University More details to be released nearer to date. NOAI 2026 Final Assessment Format Designed to nurture interest and talent in AI among students in MOE schools regardless of their prior experience. The assessment focuses on fundamental AI concepts and programming skills, serving two key purposes: Identify exceptional talent for international competitions while maintaining an accessible environment that encourages broader student participation in AI learning; Align with MOE’s goal of fostering widespread interest rather than creating barriers to entry. Consists of two distinct sections designed to comprehensively assess students’ AI knowledge and practical skills. Section 1: 20 multiple-choice questions that test theoretical understanding of fundamental AI concepts, algorithms, and principles. Section 2: comprises 3 AI programming questions that require students to implement solutions using Python, allowing them to demonstrate their ability to translate theoretical knowledge into practical code. This dual-format approach ensures students are evaluated on both conceptual understanding and hands-on programming capabilities essential for AI development. Enquiry Contact Email Address: learn-admin@aisingapore.org Frequently Asked Questions: ASSESSMENT FORMAT & DESIGN Q1: “Why 300 questions? This seems excessive and will exhaust students.” The format tests breadth of knowledge across five domains while maintaining integrity through time pressure. This is a competitive Olympiad, the rigor is intentional. Q2: “Are students expected to answer all 300 MCQs?” No. Students should attempt as many questions as they can. There is no penalty for incorrect answers. Overall ranking is based on the total number of correct answers, not completion. Q3: “How is the Preliminary Round scored?” Each correct answer is awarded 1 mark . No marks are deducted for incorrect answers. The total score is the sum of all correct answers out of 300. Q4: “Isn’t this just testing speed rather than actual AI knowledge?” It tests both. Internalised knowledge enables fast, accurate responses. This distinguishes deep understanding from surface knowledge within the various domains. Q5: “How does this compare to IOAI’s assessment format?” The NOAI is not intended to replicate the IOAI assessment format. The NOAI Prelims is designed to efficiently filter N participants down to the top 150 for further assessment in the NOAI Final Assessment, after which the top 60 will undergo further training and selection by NTU’s training team. Q6: “Is the NOAI Prelims an open-book exam? Can students use calculators or reference materials?” This exam focuses on internalised knowledge. No calculators, notes, textbooks, AI tools, or websites are permitted. Only pen and paper for rough work is allowed. INTEGRITY & FAIRNESS Q7: “Students can still cheat using GenAI. How does time pressure prevent this?” The use of AI assistants is prohibited, and the Prelims are required to be conducted under on-site proctoring. Time constraints limit the feasibility of external assistance, and the Final Assessment serves as an additional filtering stage to validate performance. Q8: “What about students with learning difficulties, will they be granted additional time?” No additional time will be provided. The NOAI is a competitive Olympiad designed to identify top performers for international representation. Students with special educational needs are welcome to participate and gain exposure to the competition and to AI, regardless of progression outcome. Q9: “Our school’s computers/ internet are slower. Isn’t this unfair?” The NOAI 2026 Prelims are conducted via Google Forms and do not require high internet speeds. Schools are responsible for ensuring technical readiness ahead of the assessment. PREPARATION & ACCESSIBILITY Q10: “Is the NOAI accessible to students without prior AI experience?” The NOAI is a competitive Olympiad and requires that students have a proficiency in fundamental AI concepts. However, resources are readily available and we encourage students to read widely in their preparations for the competition. Q11: “How should students prepare?” Students should review the IOAI 2026 syllabus and read extensively about each of the covered topics. As a starting point, a curated list of learning resources can be found on the NOAI page. Q12: “The NOAI appears to be catered to elite schools. How do mainstream schools compete at this level?” The NOAI is designed to identify the highest-performing students in Singapore, regardless of school background. The assessed curriculum is publicly available through free resources, and all students are expected to prepare independently by engaging with these materials. SELECTION PROCESS Q13: “What score is needed to reach top 150?” There is no fixed cutoff score. Selection is based on ranking within the cohort, with the 150th-ranked score determined after marking. To prevent over-representation from any single school, school seat quotas will apply. Q14: “How are the school seat quotas defined?” School seat quotas are determined by AI Singapore using multiple criteria to ensure broad representation and a national talent pipeline. The specific quotas and criteria are not publicly disclosed. Q15: “What if there’s a tie at 150th place?” Ties will be resolved using predefined criteria, which may include domain-specific performance and time taken. Where appropriate, all tied candidates may be advanced to the Final Assessment. GENERAL & ADMINISTRATIVE Q16: “Is there a participation fee to enter into this competition?” No. Participation in NOAI is free-of-charge for eligible MOE students. Q17: “What happens after the top 150 students are selected following the Prelims?” Final Assessment (6 Mar): 20 MCQs + 3 programming questions. Top 50-60 students → NTU Selection (May) → IOAI Training at NTU (May) → IOAI Boot Camp (June) → Final 8 will be selected to represent Singapore at the IOAI 2026 in Abu Dhabi (Aug). Q18: “Our school has only a few participants. Is it still worth taking part in the NOAI?” Yes. The NOAI offers exposure to key AI concepts and a national competitive benchmark. Participation provides valuable learning and developmental insights regardless of cohort size. Q19: “Do students receive participation certificates for the Preliminary Round?” No. Only students who advance to the Final Assessment receive certificates. The Preliminary Round assists schools with selection. Q20: “If I am a teacher/parent/student interested in the NOAI, how do I contact to find out more? For enquiries, please write in to noai@aisingapore.org Learning Resources The resources provided are illustrative rather than exhaustive, intended to support your early journey in learning AI. They are abstracted from the PDF embedded below provided by IOAI Official. You may download the PDF here For ease of use, the resources have been organised into the following levels: Beginner Intermediate Intermediate to Advanced Beginner to Intermediate Beginner AI Python for Beginners | Andrew Ng, Stanford University: Google’s Python Class | Google for Education: Introduction to Computer Science and Programming in Python | MIT OpenCourseWare: Python, NumPy, Pandas | W3Schools: Beginner to Intermediate CS50’s Introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Python | David J. Malan, Harvard University: Generative AI for Beginners | Microsoft: Hugging Face Agents Course | HuggingFace: Intermediate Machine Learning | Andrew Ng, Stanford University: Deep Learning | Andrew Ng, Stanford University: Intermediate to Advanced Artificial Intelligence | MIT OpenCourseWare: Introduction to Machine Learning | MIT OpenCourseWare: Learning Resources PDF File IOAI-Educational-Resources-Sheet1 NOAI 2025 Task Section 1 MCQs & Section 2 Programming Questions NOAI2025_Questions NOAI 2026 Task Prelims 300 MCQs Final Assessment 20 MCQs Final Assessment 3 Programming Questions Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 IOAI Pre-Selection Task Selection Test & Residential Camp Task IOAI-2024-Singapore-Pre-Selection-Test IOAI-2025-Singapore-Pre-Selection-Test IOAI Task Below are the questions from IOAI. IOAI GitHub Repository: IOAI 2024 At-Home Tasks: At-Home Solutions: On-Site Tasks: On-Site Solutions: IOAI 2025 Team Challenge: On-Site Tasks & Solutions: 2026 Awardees 2026 Awardees 2026 Awardees 2026 Awardees 2026 Awardees 2026 Awardees 2026 Awardees 2026 Awardees 2026 Awardees 2026 Awardees 2026 Awardees 2025 Awardees 2025 Awardees 2025 Awardees 2025 Awardees 2025 Awardees 2025 Awardees 2025 Awardees [IOAI Official URL] [IOAI Official YouTube] [IOAI Official Facebook] [IOAI Official Instagram] International Olympiad in AI (IOAI) 2025 in Beijing IOAI 2025 Media Coverage IOAI 2025 Team Singapore Results Gold Medal x 2 Silver Medal x 5 International Olympiad in AI (IOAI) 2024 in Bulgaria Two teams of students from Singapore have won gold medals at the inaugural International AI Olympiad (IOAI), held in the city of Burgas, Bulgaria, from 9 to 15 August this year. Participants were tested on their AI expertise in a Scientific Round, which emphasised problem-solving skills highly sought after in scientific research. This year’s focus was on Natural Language Processing (NLP), Machine Learning, and Computer Vision, using real-world datasets. Following the Scientific Round, participants competed in a hands-on Practical Round, which involved generating image and video productions using AI tools. Both Singapore teams excelled, winning two of the four available gold medals in the Scientific Round, outperforming over 40 teams from around the world in the Olympiad. Media Coverage [AI Singapore] [NTU] [MOE] [NYP] [Mothership] *Updated as of 11 Feb 2026 Mailing List Sign Up Get the latest AI Singapore news, programme updates and offers directly into your INBOX. By submitting this form, you agree to receive updates and news about AI Singapore via email. You can unsubscribe whenever you want.