Every April, some of the sharpest young programmers in the Baltic region sit down for two days to solve problems that many professionals wouldn’t finish in a week. That’s the Baltic Olympiad in Informatics — a prestigious competition that‘s been running for three decades, drawing the best secondary school programmers from across the Baltic Sea countries.
Digisalix is one of its sponsors. This is why.
What is BOI?
The Baltic Olympiad in Informatics has been running since 1995, founded by the IOI team leaders from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Today it brings together competitors from eleven nations across the Baltic Sea region and is known for its remarkable spirit that unites some of the brightest young minds in northern Europe.
Each nation sends up to six competitors — though despite the great team atmosphere, it is an individual competition. Over two days, they have five hours to solve three hard problems a day. The kind of hard that most professional programmers would not finish in a week.
For the best performers, BOI can be a stepping stone towards a place on the national team for the International Olympiad in Informatics, one of the most prestigious science olympiads in the world.
From Competition to Craft
When Väinö joined us as a summer trainee, he had already placed fourth in Datatähti and represented Finland at both BOI and IOI. Sampo came through a parallel route: he represented Finland at the International Mathematical Olympiad for three years, came second in Datatähti twice, and most recently won bronze at the International Mathematics Competition in Bulgaria. He enjoyed his first summer with us enough to come back for another.
They both exceeded our expectations and are living proof that this kind of training produces something you don’t learn from a textbook. People who spent their formative years wrestling with genuinely hard problems have the patience, the rigour, and a passion for the kind of problems that push back hard. And that makes them exceptional to work with.
Why we sponsor it
Digisalix is growing, and things are going well. But we haven’t forgotten our roots. We remember those late nights with a difficult problem, the frustration before the breakthrough, and the satisfaction when it finally yields.
We sponsor BOI because we know what this kind of training builds. Some of the best algorithmic thinkers we have worked with started in competitions like this. One of our own did too. And because if it helps more young people discover the joy of solving hard problems, we’re proud to be part of that.
Good luck to all participants!
