TEHRAN – The fifth International Combinatorics Olympiad (ICO 2025) took place in Tehran on October 30 and 31, bringing together approximately 5,000 competitors from over 70 countries both in person and online.

Combinatorics is an area of mathematics primarily concerned with counting, both as a means and an end in obtaining results, and certain properties of finite structures.

ICO is an annual competition focusing on high-quality problems related to combinatorics. The primary objective is to help students become familiar with combinatorics as a creative, broad, and enjoyable topic in a fun and engaging manner, and provide them with the opportunity to compete with students from other countries.

ICO is the first competition in the field of combinatorics, which includes online scoring and ranking. Participation is open to anyone interested in mathematics or computer science, from high school students to any other educational level.

On the first day of the competition, students attempted to answer 15 short-answer questions within a two-hour time frame. On the second day, the participants responded to seven long-answer questions within five hours, IRNA reported.

Moreover, the 12th Iranian Geometry Olympiad was held on October 17, in person and online, attracting 10,000 students from 50 countries.

The Iranian Geometry Olympiad is an annual international competition that assesses students' skills in solving geometry problems. It enhances logical thinking, imagination, and analytical thinking by using creative and innovative issues in geometry.

Achievements in Olympiads

The Iranian team, comprising four high school students, grabbed two silver medals and two bronze medals at the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (IOAI), held from August 2 to 9 in Beijing, China.

Hosted by Beijing National Day School under the patronage of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the competition brought together 310 students, forming 80 teams, from 63 countries and territories including Poland, France, Iran, Australia, Brazil, Hungary, China, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, India, Serbia, Russia, Japan, Singapore, the United States, and Sweden.

Arash Yousefnejad and Ali Shayan claimed the silver medals, while Parsa Golestani and Radin Rahmani-Nodehi won the Bronze medals, IRIB reported.

Iran won two silver medals and two bronze medals at the Eighth International Economics Olympiad (IEO) 2025, held from July 20 to 29, in Baku, Azerbaijan. This year, 68 countries participated in the IEO.

Four Iranian students clinched three gold medals and a silver medal at the 36th International Biology Olympiad (IBO 2025), held from July 19 to 27 in Quezon City, Philippines, ranking second among 81 countries, up from third in 2024.

Five Iranian students secured silver medals at the 55th International Physics Olympiad, ranking 11th globally.

Held from July 18 to 24 in Paris, the IPhO 2025 brought together 440 candidates from over 90 countries.

Iran secured two gold medals, three silver medals, and a bronze medal at the 66th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO 2025), held from July 10 to 20 in Australia.

The event drew more than 600 high school students from 112 countries.

At the second International Mathematics Olympiad for high school students in Turkmenistan, Iranian students won seven bronze medals. The event was held from April 21 to 26.

More than 230 talented students from 15 countries, including Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Iran, Armenia, Bulgaria, Nepal, China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Vietnam, Qatar, and Turkmenistan, took part in the competition.

MT/MG