International Student Research Competition in Artificial Intelligence

General Provisions

The competition is held annually with the aim of promoting students’ research activities, encouraging interest in science and technology among young people, and contributing to solving problems and practical challenges in the field of artificial intelligence.

Students (cadets) pursuing higher education at the bachelor’s or master’s level (hereinafter referred to as “students”) at higher education institutions in Ukraine, regardless of their form of ownership or subordination, are eligible to participate in the competition. This also includes international students and stateless persons studying at these institutions, as well as students from higher education institutions in other countries.

The founder of the competition is the National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” (hereinafter referred to as “Igor Sikorsky KPI”). Igor Sikorsky KPI is responsible for the organizational and methodological support of the competition.

The Organizing Committee of the competition (hereinafter referred to as the “Organizing Committee”) is responsible for overseeing the organization, implementation, and compliance with the requirements of these Regulations.

The competition is announced by an official order of Igor Sikorsky KPI, which specifies, among other things, the composition of the Organizing Committee, the timeline of the competition, including its rounds and stages.

Objectives of the Competition

The main objectives of the Competition are:

• to identify and support talented students, and to promote the realization of their potential;

• to encourage the creative self-development of student youth;

• to popularize the achievements of science, technology, and innovative solutions;

• to engage leading scientists, researchers, and academic staff in active work with gifted students;

• to form teams for participation in international olympiads, competitions, and tournaments.

Requirements for Scientific Papers

The Competition accepts independently prepared student research papers in the field of artificial intelligence. The submitted works must be exploratory in nature and must not have received awards from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, governmental bodies, or other competitions.

Each research paper may have no more than two authors, provided they have jointly contributed to the topic, and one academic advisor. If the authors represent different higher education institutions, two academic advisors (one from each institution) are allowed.

Student research papers should focus on the development of new methods and technologies in the field of artificial intelligence and must meet current scientific standards. The papers should include justification of the topic and its novelty, problem statement, literature review, a formal (mathematical) description of the proposed approach (method or technology), software implementation (which must be demonstrated with a relevant practical task), analysis of the obtained results, conclusions, and suggestions for potential applications.

Research papers must be formatted according to the following requirements:

• Font: Times New Roman, size 14, line spacing 1.5;

• Page format: A4; margins – left: 30 mm, right: 10 mm, top and bottom: 20 mm;

• The paper must include a title page (with only the code and title of the paper), table of contents, introduction, main chapters, conclusions, list of references, and an abstract (indicating relevance, objectives, research methods, and general characteristics of the work);

• Proper citations and references must be included when ideas, statements, or data from other individuals are used;

• The total length of the paper must not exceed 30 pages (excluding appendices and references);

• Diagrams and illustrations must be submitted in A3 or A4 format.

Papers must be submitted in electronic form.

The research papers may be written in Ukrainian or English.

In all papers submitted to the Competition, the surname and initials of the author(s), academic advisor, and the name of the higher education institution must be replaced with a code (no more than two words). A separate document with the same code must be submitted, containing the personal information of the author(s) and academic advisor.

Competition Procedure

International Round of the Competition consists of two stages:
Stage one – peer review of submitted works;
Stage two – final scientific and practical conference (hereinafter referred to as the Conference).

To organize and conduct the Competition at Igor Sikorsky KPI, an Organizing Committee is formed. Its members may include representatives of the university administration, researchers, academic staff and students of Igor Sikorsky KPI, as well as representatives from other higher education institutions, government bodies, research institutions, enterprises, and public organizations from Ukraine and other countries (subject to their consent).

A research advisor of a submitted paper cannot be a member of the Organizing Committee or a Competition Committee.

To organize and conduct International Round at Igor Sikorsky KPI, a Competition Committee is established (hereinafter referred to as the Competition Committee), with its members approved by the Rector’s order.

The Competition Committee may include academic and research staff of Igor Sikorsky KPI, representatives of other institutions of higher education, government bodies, research organizations, enterprises, and public organizations from Ukraine and abroad. These individuals must be specialists, developers of new technologies, and authors of scientific publications in the field of artificial intelligence. The number of Igor Sikorsky KPI representatives in the Competition Committee must not exceed 50% of the total approved membership.

During the first stage of International Round, the Organizing Committee checks all submissions for signs of academic plagiarism. The Competition Committee reviews and evaluates the submitted papers. Each paper must be reviewed by at least three reviewers.

If a submitted research paper is found to contain signs of academic plagiarism, the Competition Committee will consider the matter and issue a decision to either:

• Confirm the plagiarism, disqualify the work from the Competition, and notify the author and the local competition committee at the respective institution; or

• Reject the plagiarism claim and allow the work to proceed in the Competition.

Based on the peer reviews, a ranking list of scientific papers is formed and published. The ranking is discussed and approved at a general meeting of the Competition Committee.

At its meeting (with at least two-thirds of its members present), the Competition Committee votes to determine which authors will be invited to the Conference. Decisions are made by a majority vote of the approved members. In the event of a tie, the vote of the Chair of the Committee is decisive.

The authors of the selected research papers will receive an official invitation to participate in the Conference, including by email, no later than two weeks prior to the event. At the Conference, they will present and defend their work.

If an invited participant is unable to attend the Conference in person due to objective, verifiable reasons, participation via video conferencing is permitted.

The Competition Committee may also decide to hold the Conference entirely in a virtual format.

Information about the Conference date, the list of invited participants and their research papers, as well as the reviews of all submitted works (excluding reviewer identities), and the final ranking list will be published on the official Competition website no later than two weeks before the Conference.

The Competition Committee maintains a register of student research papers to prevent duplicate submissions.

All documentation related to International Round of the Competition is retained at Igor Sikorsky KPI for three years.

Submission and Consideration of Appeals

To ensure the objective conduct of Stage II of the Competition at the base higher education institution, an appeals commission is established, the number and composition of which are approved by the order of the head of the base higher education institution.

Members of the appeals commission may be appointed from representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science, the base higher education institution, other higher education institutions, scientific institutions, enterprises, public organizations, etc. (with their consent), who are experts in the field of artificial intelligence. The number of representatives from the base higher education institution in the appeals commission should not exceed 1/3 of its composition.

Participants of the Competition may submit a written application to the appeals commission within five calendar days after the publication of the ranking list, regarding the unfair assessment of their scientific work.

The appeals commission, within three working days from the date of receipt of the application, adopts a decision, which is recorded in the minutes of the meeting of the Competition’s appeals commission, and provides it to the applicant.

Determination and Awarding of Competition Winners

After the conclusion of the final scientific-practical conference, the Competition Commission summarizes the results of the second round of the Competition and makes decisions regarding the determination of the Competition winners and the awarding of diplomas: 1st degree – one winner, 2nd degree – two winners, 3rd degree – three winners.
The author of a scientific work who did not participate in the final scientific-practical conference cannot be a winner.

The scientific works of the Competition winners are published on the website of the base higher education institution and the Competition.

The Competition Commission sends reports on the conduct of the second round of the Competition to the Institute for Modernization of Educational Content, including the order approving the competition and appeals commissions of the base higher education institution, the minutes of the Competition Commission meeting, a statistical report, and copies of the decisions of the appeals commission protocols (if available).

The diplomas of the Competition winners are issued by the base higher education institution and signed by the chairperson of the Competition Commission. In case of loss, the diploma is not reissued.

The scientific supervisors of student works awarded diplomas of the 1st-3rd degrees are acknowledged with gratitude by the Competition Commission.

To encourage students, the Competition Commission may issue them certificates of participation in the Competition and awards in specific categories.

Higher education institutions may organize events to honour students who are Competition winners and their scientific supervisors.

The list of winners awarded diplomas of the 1st-3rd degrees is approved by the order of the Ministry of Education and Science.

Funding of the Competition

Material and technical support of the Competition, costs associated with the review of submitted works, and the organization of the Conference are covered by Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and other sources not prohibited by the legislation of Ukraine.

Travel expenses for participants of International Round are covered by the higher education institutions or organizations where the participants study or work.