A list of free problem solving workshop locations and dates will be posted on our workshops page shortly. They are taking place in November and December 2017 all across the island of Ireland.
If you / your students would like to attend a workshop, please register for AILO 2017/8.
You will then receive the AILO sample sets to date along with how to book a place at a particular workshop.
Registration for AILO 2018 is now open. Schools or individual students can register at www.adaptcentre.ie/ailo/enter and you can download the AILO 2018 Brochure and try Sample Puzzles.
The All Ireland Linguistics Olympiad (AILO) challenges secondary school students to test their minds against the world’s toughest problems in logic, language and linguistics. Students must develop their own strategies for solving complex problems in unfamiliar languages — making AILO a fabulous way to hone problem-solving and lateral-thinking skills!
All second level students from schools in Ireland, both North and South, are eligible to participate. We have Junior (under 16) and Senior (aged 16 and over) categories.
Represent Ireland at the International Linguistics Olympiad
The International Linguistics Olympiad 2018 will be held in Prague. The top four students from the individual round at the AILO final will be selected to represent Ireland at the International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL 2018) from 26th to 30th July 2018 in Prague, Czech Republic. For more, see www.ioling.org
Register Now to Receive Sample Puzzles
Registration closes on 19th January 2018, but it is important to register ASAP to receive monthly sample puzzles and details of regional problem-solving workshops.
The first round will take place in your own school on 29th January 2018. The papers will be emailed out to teachers for print under exam conditions. The top 100 students from the first round will qualify to compete in the national final in Dublin in March 2018.
Ireland’s top four secondary school Linguistic problem-solvers win the chance to represent their country at the International Linguistics Olympiad in India in July
Four secondary school students from across the island of Ireland have been selected to test their language decoding skills against the world’s best at the International Linguistics Olympiad in Mysore, India in July. The students, from Dublin and Donegal, finished ahead of 100 opponents in the All Ireland Linguistics Olympiad (AILO) Finals, which were recently held at Trinity College Dublin.
Prof. Vincent Wade (CEO, ADAPT) pictured with Pádraig Sheehy, Richard Neville, Claire O’Connor, Dónal Farren and Dr. Cara Greene (National Coordinator AILO, ADAPT)
Run by the Science Foundation Ireland funded ADAPT Centre, the All Ireland Linguistics Olympiad (AILO) aims to inspire the next generation of multilingual technology graduates, who possess a combination of language competency and problem solving expertise.
Pádraig Sheehy of Gonzaga College, Ranelagh (Dublin) is the Senior Champion. He will be joined in India by fellow team members Claire O’Connor of St. Louis Rathmines (Dublin), Richard Neville of St. Andrews College, Booterstown (Dublin) and Dónal Farren of St. Eunan’s College (Donegal) who finished second, third and fourth respectively in the Senior competition.
The Junior competition was won by Alexander Harding of Maynooth Post Primary School (Kildare). Tristan l’Ansen Sparks of Methodist College (Belfast), Aleksandr Gusev of Royal School (Cavan) and Ross Beatty of St. Andrew’s College, Booterstown (Dublin) clinched the 2nd, 3rd anad 4th place spots.
Olympiad National Coordinator Dr. Cara Greene of ADAPT said, “Pádraig, Claire, Richard and Dónal will do Ireland proud in India. They will be challenged with some of the toughest linguistic puzzles in the world during the individual and team competitions at the international Olympiad.”
Finalists have received tuition from experts at the ADAPT Centre for Digital Content Technology, a €110 million academia-industry research centre developing advanced technology to adapt and personalise digital content and services to the needs of global users. They will receive further tuition before they leave to represent Ireland in the Finals in India later this year.
Dubliner Luke Gardiner among world’s top problem solvers in Bulgaria
Nineteen year old Luke Gardiner from Gonzaga College, Dublin, clinched a bronze medal at the International Linguistics Olympaid in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria in July 2015.
The international problem-solving contest, which ran from 20th to 24th July, challenges students to test lateral thinking skills by decoding some of the world’s toughest problems in logic, language and linguistics. Gardiner beat off competition from 180 students from 29 countries to bring home a bronze medal.
The top four teenagers from the national All Ireland Linguistics Olympiad, run by the Science Foundation Ireland ADAPT Centre, attended a two-day problem-solving training camp at Dublin City University prior to their departure for Bulgaria.
Gardiner was joined on the team by Shmuel Barron (17) of Sutton Park School, Dublin, Ethan Hamman (18) of Newpark Comprehensive, Dublin, and Niamh Lynch (18) of Loreto College Letterkenny, Donegal.
Dr. Cara Greene of the ADAPT Centre, who led the Irish delegation, said: “I am very proud and excited that Luke Gardiner has won a bronze medal in the International Linguistics Olympiad. This is Ireland’s first medal in seven years competing in the contest. The standard of competition is incredibly high and nations with a long tradition in the Linguistics Olympiad tend to sweep the medals. This makes Luke’s performance very noteworthy. In fact, all four members of the Irish team performed exceptionally well.“
The students decoded numerals in the Nahuatl language of the Aztec Empire; deciphered Soundex, a phonetic algorithm for indexing names by sound; interpreted ancient Somali poetry; and decrypted sentences from the Wambali language of Australia (spoken by only 89 people worldwide). Knowledge of a second language is not required, as the puzzles are designed to test contestants’ reasoning skills, logic and patience.
Gardiner is studying Mathematics at university this year. He has joined a long line of All Ireland Linguistics Olympiad past participants who are now putting their problem solving ability to good use in STEM-related careers.
We are delighted to announce the 2015/2016 season launch of the All Ireland Linguistics Olympiad!
The All Ireland Linguistics Olympiad (AILO) challenges secondary school students to test their minds against the world’s toughest problems in logic, language and linguistics. Students must develop their own strategies for solving complex problems in unfamiliar languages — making AILO a fabulous way to hone problem-solving and lateral thinking skills!
Junior Category
All second level students from schools in Ireland, both North and South, are eligible to participate. We will have Junior (under 16) and Senior (aged 16 and over) categories. Both Junior and Senior Category students will take the same puzzles and be marked in the same way. However, we will award prizes and trophies to the winners of each category.
Register Now to Receive Sample Puzzles
Registration closes on 25th January 2016, but it is important to register ASAP to receive monthly sample puzzles for your students: www.adaptcentre.ie/ailo
Timeline
The first round will take place in your own school on 1st February 2016. The top 100 students from the first round will qualify to compete in the national final on 15th March 2016 at Trinity College Dublin.
Represent Ireland at the International Linguistics Olympiad
As well as trophies and prizes for the winners of the Junior and Senior categories, the overall top four students from the individual round will win a trip to represent Ireland at the International Linguistics Olympiad from 25th–29th July 2016 in Mysore, India. There, students from 30 countries will enjoy a week of puzzles, sightseeing and cultural experiences.
Register now!
www.adaptcentre.ie/ailo
AILO is part of Education and Outreach programme of The ADAPT Centre for Digital Content Technology. The ADAPT Centre is funded under the SFI Research Centres Programme and is co-funded under the European Regional Development Fund.
