The International Youth Olympiad (IYO) is an annual, free educational competition hosted by HSE for foreign nationals and stateless individuals. In 2026, I participated in the HSE IYO in the field of «Journalism» and was awarded a second-degree prize. The Olympiad provides students, including international students, an opportunity to showcase their skills and gain an advantage when applying to the Higher School of Economics.
The Olympiad consisted of two stages. In the first stage, we were presented with five materials to choose from, and we had to select one and complete an assignment. I chose a press release about the rising price of gold and the roles of Russia and China in the global economy. Based on this material, I had to write a news article, adhering to the principles of journalistic information: highlighting the main points, structuring the text correctly, and maintaining factual accuracy. I also had to create a prompt for an AI network to help rework the original material and prepare a news text according to the given requirements. The second task involved defining a journalistic term.
The second stage was conducted in the format of an interview. This assessed knowledge, the ability to reason, and interest in journalism. Ultimately, I was named a prize-winner of the Olympiad, and the diploma helped me gain admission to HSE.
