The European Girls’ Olympiad in Informatics (EGOI) is an international competition for young women interested in Computer Science. The 2026 edition of the EGOI took place in May in Cesenatico, Italy. The team representing Canada consisted of Yilin (Elaine) Li, Grace Ye, Xubai (Carol) Zhang and Jessie Zhou. The team earned three bronze medals (Elaine, Grace, and Jessie).
About EGOI
After noticing a significant gender gap in various international Olympiads, the EGOI was created in 2021 to provide a similar platform for female identifying and non-binary students to develop their interest in Computer Science and encourage them to compete internationally. While the EGOI is meant primarily for contestants from Europe, a few other countries including Canada are invited as well. Alongside the competition, participants have time to socialise with others which helps build a community of women interested in problem solving and competitive programming and creates role models for younger students.
CEMC’s support to EGOI
The Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing (CEMC) along with the University of Waterloo support the team that represents Canada at the EGOI each year. This includes selecting students that participate, training them for the competition, and leading the delegation at the main event. The first round of selections is done based on performance in the Canadian Computing Competition. Typically, the final selection of the Canadian team is made through a competition held during the Canadian Informatics Workshop. Due to the timing of the EGOI in 2026, this year’s team was selected in an online competition.
The team was led by Valentina Hideg and Paul McGrath, teaching faculty at the CEMC.
“Opportunities like EGOI are important because they create a safe space where young women can meet others who love problem solving just as much as they do. During EGOI, it's amazing to see students make new friends, learn from new experiences, and start to feel part of the wider competitive programming community. For a lot of competitors, it's the first time they've connected with peers who share the same passion, and that sense of belonging can be incredibly inspiring.”
- Valentina Hideg, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream
"We're incredibly proud of our team and their performance at EGOI 2026. Bringing home three bronze medals is an amazing achievement and is evidence that Canada has a talented and gender diverse competitive programming community."
- Paul McGrath, Associate Professor, Teaching Stream
Participants’ Experience
The four contestants participated in an in person training to build their confidence, sharpen their problem-solving skills, and build a strong team that can support each other as they take on new challenges at the competition. The training and the contest itself also taught them about time management and logical thinking which are valuable tools for problem solving, even outside the programming world. Xubai (Carol) Zhang reflects, “EGOI has helped me realize the significance of logical thinking, i.e. the ability to think of a solution through finding patterns, making your own test cases, and finding edge cases.”
An international platform like this also provides a fantastic opportunity to connect with students from other countries, building a community for students at a young age. The contestants felt that this aspect of the competition was the most memorable for them.
“My experience at EGOI made competitive programming for girls feel a lot less lonely.”
- Jessie Zhou
“The EGOI made me really understand how strong and supportive the international competitive coding community is, and how many girls have the same passion as me. This inspires me to keep improving as a competitive coder.”
- Yilin (Elaine) Li
Grace Ye advises younger students interested in competitive programming, “Don’t be afraid to start, and don’t be too discouraged by failure! It’s never too late to start; I only started competitive programming last September! I did have a good teacher, and some math contest background, but don’t think that you’ll be too behind and give up before you start. Failure may be discouraging, but you can use it to learn more and to find what you need to work on!”
Impact
The CEMC’s ongoing outreach efforts have contributed to steady growth in the competitive programming community, with participation in the Canadian Informatics Workshop nearly doubling in 2026 compared to the previous year. Through initiatives like EGOI, the CEMC aims to strengthen gender diversity in STEM and create opportunities for students and mentors to connect, collaborate, and pursue their shared passion for problem solving in an inclusive environment. The CEMC is grateful to Hudson River Trading for their sponsorship of Team Canada at the 2026 EGOI.
Story by Lata Punetha