March 2026 - Imperial Materials

Dr Yongqiang Wen leads Team Great Britain to Gold at the International AI Winter Olympiad 2026

25 March 2026

Dr Yongqiang Wen, a researcher in Imperial College London’s Department of Materials, led Team Great Britain at the International AI Winter Olympiad (IAIO) 2026 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Under his guidance, team members Anango Prabhat and Xingzhi Lu earned gold medals for their overall performance in both scientific and practical rounds, with Anango finishing 1st and Xingzhi 7th overall. This placed Team Great Britain among the top-performing nations at the competition, alongside Team China.

The following Q&A explores Dr Wen’s experience as team leader and mentor, the journey of Team Great Britain, and insights into the International AI Winter Olympiad itself.

Team Great Britain at the International AI Winter Olympiad (IAIO) 2026 in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Question 1: Can you give us an overview of the International AI Winter Olympiad 2026?

International AI Winter Olympiad (IAIO) 2026 is organized by IRCAI in collaboration with ACM Slovenia, IAIO 2026 challenges participants in both theoretical and practical AI knowledge while developing solutions for environmental and social challenges for young people under 20. It is a global platform for educating, developing, and supporting the next generation of responsible AI creators. The IAIO is an international AI competition for team contestants from various invited countries.

Team Great Britain was selected through the UK’s official IAIO process, organised by Cambridge Dream, which is the only UK’s qualified national delegation for the Olympiad.

Question 2: What was the team like to work with during the Olympiad?

The students chosen for Team Great Britain distinguished themselves through their consistently high performance across those stages. Our team members are hardworking and smart. Beyond that, they were thoughtful, supportive of one another, and showed real maturity under the pressure of an international competition.

Question 3: What was your role as team leader and mentor?

The Team Leader is chosen on the basis of a strong background in AI, mathematics and computing. The deputy team leader was from the UK’s organiser and was primarily responsible for the team’s hospitality and welfare.

As team leader, my role was broader. I took part in the General Assembly with team leaders from other national delegations and the IAIO committee, where we discussed all aspects of the competition. I also supported our team members throughout the process by helping with preparation, providing technical and academic guidance, offering emotional support before and after the competition, and defending the team’s scores where necessary.

Question 4: Were there any key moments during the competition that stood out for you?

The closing ceremony was definitely one of the standout moments, as our team was awarded two gold medals. It was an incredibly proud moment and a wonderful way to recognise all the students’ hard work. Celebrating afterwards with the other teams, ambassadors and other officials made it even more memorable.

Question 5: How has Imperial College London influenced your journey leading up to this event?

As a researcher at Imperial, I have been able to develop my career and experience in these fields and extend that work into outreach through international competitions and national delegations. The Olympiad also gave me an opportunity to connect my research and Imperial more broadly with other national teams and team leaders.

Question 6: What was the biggest challenge you faced as team leader?

The biggest challenge was supporting the team through every stage of the competition – helping them prepare for both rounds, taking part in the marking process, and appealing to the IAIO committee on behalf of my team members when network and technical issues arose during the practical round.

Question 7: How did it feel when your team won the medals?

I felt very proud as team leader, and very proud of our team members for all the hard work, talent and resilience they showed throughout the competition.

Question 8: What advice would you give to future teams preparing for the IAIO?

As this is still an emerging competition, I would encourage future teams to build as much competition and examination experience as possible in mathematics and programming. Taking part in other high-level competitions, such as the International Mathematical Olympiad or the International Olympiad in Informatics, can provide strong preparation and help students develop the problem-solving skills, confidence and resilience needed for a competition like this.