AILO is inspiring students to pursue careers in areas combining computing, linguistics and language. Some of these students have gone on to tutor AILO finalists. Here’s what they have to say about the competition:
“The Linguistics Olympiad is more about understanding how languages are put together rather than actually being able to read them. It is a great way to hone problem-solving skills. Being involved in AILO helped teach me some of the necessary problem-solving skills used in software programming. Some of the AILO questions have even been used by my lecturers to demonstrate how to approach problems you have never seen before.”Robert Devereux, Computer Applications Student at Dublin City University
“After competing in AILO my enthusiasm for languages and linguistics expanded greatly. The experience had a huge effect on my choice of course in university and I was delighted when I was given the opportunity to become an AILO tutor.”Melissa Sorensen, Computer Science, Linguistics and Language Student at Trinity College Dublin
“Participating in AILO has been one of the best experiences of my life. Little did I realise a few years ago that I could learn so much about the world’s languages while reading unfamiliar writing scripts, translating from languages I had never heard of, breaking codes and, indeed, having fun! Before AILO I had only a vague idea of what linguistics was; now I have discovered not only the course I want to study at university but also a great passion which I hadn’t yet put a name on.”Imogen Grumley Traynor, Linguistics Student at University of Cambridge