Though Bulgaria places last across the European Union under various indices including education and knowledge, it is among the world's leaders in one specific area. Every year the national pride receives a boost from the success of high school students who win medals at international competitions in informatics. This year youths from 82 countries joined the International Olympiad of Informatics in the Russian city of Kazan. The Bulgarian national team won one gold and two silver medals. Thus Bulgaria placed in the top ten countries where this vanguard discipline is concerned.

This year the success has been double, because the country has an absolute champion, national informatics team coach Emil Kelevedzhiev tells us. Gold medalist Hristo Venev, a student from SMG, the Sofia High School of Mathematics, is not only the all-around winner but has also occupied the second place in the rankings of multiple winners comparing achievements over the entire history of the Olympiad.

Bulgaria had an absolute champion in the very first competition of informatics held in the town of Pravets in the western part of this country back in 1989, on the eve of democratic changes. Emil Kelevedzhiev says that during this spell of 28 years Bulgarians have hardly missed winning a gold medal at international competitions. This achievement shows in the all-time rankings of countries by medals. „In the rankings Bulgaria places fifth and ahead are only superpowers like China, Russia, Poland and South Korea - and we are a relatively small nation”, Emil Kelevedzhiev says and explains the dynamics of informatics:

„The changes in the complexity of informatics problems given to teams at the Olympiad are great. Now problems include sophisticated algorithm material which is by rule studied at university, as part of computer science majors. This competition is an interesting combination of science and sport. It is a scientific competition because participants have to apply algorithms - some of them discovered in the recent years, some known for more than 2 thousand years. The Olympiad displays all features of a sporting event. Every competitor in it should be first of all a brilliant mathematician and then have the skills to program - i.e. translate the mathematical algorithm into the language of programming. This should be done very fast, and so the competitor should be able to write very fast.”

Apart from talent, students work hard during the year to prepare for the race. A national committee of scientists has been established to select team members after every nationwide competition, says Emil Kelevedzhiev:

„It all begins with the talent of these teenagers. Some of them like champion Hristo Venev have been competing since age 12 or 13. Bulgaria has a well-structured system of competitions. There is a National Olympiad of Informatics and this event is the basis to select the members of the national team lined up with 12 students.”

Emil Kelevedzhiev remarks that it is a great pleasure to communicate with the brilliant students:

„They are excellent students in all subjects, but on top of that they have rare talent in programming and informatics. Recently, on our way back from Kazan gold medalist Hristo Venev was asking whether we knew what a microcentury meant. Applying the logic of other measurements, a miscrocentury lasts about 50 minutes, the time for giving a lecture. Well”, Emil Kelevedzhiev concludes, “this is the type of interesting conversation one gets engaged in with these beautiful minds.”  

English Daniela Konstantinova