The Egyptian team that will compete in the third edition of the European Girls’ Olympiad in Informatics (EGOI) has been formed. EGOI is held on July 15-21 in Lund, Sweden.
This year marks the second participation of Egypt in EGOI. In 2021, the country participated in EGOI, hosted in Switzerland, for the first time and earned a bronze medal.
EGOI is a one-week international competition for young women interested in computer science. The Olympiad comprises two contest days where participants solve challenging algorithmic problems. The program is rounded off with excursions; participants have time to network with other girls interested in computer science and explore the host country.
Each participating country sends a delegation consisting of four female participants under the age of 20, accompanied by two coaches.
EGOI was created with the primary goal of bridging the gender gap in informatics, increasing public awareness about women in computer sciences and empowering girls in that field. The gender gap is more pronounced in mathematics and informatics olympiads. The percentage of women at such competitions is below 10%.
In 2012, the European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO) was first launched. The number of participating countries rose from 19 in 2012 to more than 50 in 2019. In 2021, EGOI was initiated as a corresponding olympiad in computer science, and it was hosted in Switzerland.
It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) is keen on preparing the Egyptian team participating in olympiads of informatics. MCIT role is within the framework of a cooperation protocol signed with the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT) on carrying out training activities for participation in national, regional, and international events in informatics.
