PROD, the world’s first software engineering olympiad for high schoolers, is now accepting participants from across the globe. For the first time, English-speaking students in Years 8–12 are invited to take part in this innovative competition focused on real-world software engineering challenges. Participants are not required to have strong programming skills: logical thinking and basic knowledge of computer science should be sufficient.
Registration is open until December 2 on the official PROD Olympiad website.
PROD gives students the chance to work on real business cases from major tech companies, develop practical skills, explore modern software systems, and collaborate with peers worldwide. All rounds — except the final — are held online, making participation accessible from anywhere. Finalists will be invited to Moscow, with travel, food, and accommodation fully covered.
Imp Info
- Registration deadline: December 2
- 4,000+ students selected from Russia and 23+ countries
- Available in English and Russian for the first time
Rounds begin December 5 —
- December 5–8: the first preliminary round– a test in basic math and programming knowledge.
- January 15–25: the second preliminary round– a case study covering one or several tracks (frontend, backend, mobile app development, and a new track, MLOps engineering). This round is open to winners and runners-up of the first round of 2025 and the second round of 2024, as well as winners of previous PROD hackathons.
- February 12–24: the individual stage of the final round– a small project assigned by the contest, to be completed by the student alone.
- March 13–17: the team stage of the final round– presentation of a project developed under the guidance of mentors (experienced developers) to a panel of judges, to be made together with the team.
- March 18:the awards ceremony in Moscow.
Rewards for winners and runners-up of the PROD Olympiad:
- Free Russian language courses for foreign students, available to participants aged 18+ after high school (HSE University’s Russian Language and Cultural Linguistics Program).
- Tuition-free enrollment at Central University, one of Russia’s top educational institutions, or tuition discounts for HSE University’s Information Product Design and Development program or other fee-based programs offered by its Faculty of Computer Science.
- Fast-track process for an internship at T-Technologies.
- Branded PROD Olympiad merch.
