Santiago Trifiró, a graduate of the Instituto Politécnico Superior and a student at the Faculty of Exact Sciences, Engineering, and Surveying, was selected to join the national team that will compete in Bolivia.
At 19 years old, Santiago Trifiró has already taken a big step in the world of programming: he was selected to join the team that will represent Argentina at the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI). From the classrooms of the Polytechnic University of Buenos Aires to Sucre, Bolivia, his journey takes him directly to an international competition that is shaping up to be as demanding as it is exciting. From July 27th to August 3rd, he will pit his talent against the best in the world.
In 2024, Santiago completed his secondary education at the Instituto Politécnico Superior, where he majored in computer science. Although he has already completed his schooling, the Olympiad is governed by the international calendar, so he took the final exam while still in the early days of his university studies.
At the end of April, he placed second in the Argentine national competition, which determined the four students who will represent the country in the prestigious international competition.
The selection process included a regional and a national stage, which Santiago successfully completed to finally advance to the final competition. The latter was held virtually and included the participation of 16 students from different provinces. “The selection process was quite long, especially due to the structure, which consists of three competitions: the jurisdictional, the national, and the selective. These are in turn divided by levels: level 1 for first- and second-year high school students; level 2 for third- and fourth-year students; and level 3 for fifth- and sixth-year students,” he explained, emphasizing that in both the jurisdictional and national stages, each student competes against other students at the same level.
The jurisdictional competition is held by region and/or district and consists of four problems to be solved. “Based on how the other competitors in your region performed, you can qualify for the national competition. In my case, I overcame that challenge and traveled to the National University of San Martín (USAM), which was the main venue for the Olympics. The top six qualified for the selection to see who would go on to the world championship. All of this happened last year; I took the selection this year at the Polytechnic University and luckily I did well, finishing second. It was a very interesting and enriching process.”
Over two days, participants had to solve three problems a day in five hours. The four highest scorers qualified for the world competition.
“The test was demanding. It took two intense days of solving complex problems for several hours. In the end, I placed among the top four, and that earned me a spot at the IOI,” Santiago commented.
Two other Polytechnic students also participated in this final phase: Mateo Delmagro and Juan Esteban, the latter recently recognized for winning an award in an international video game design competition held in China.
The IOI is one of the world's leading science olympiads and seeks to promote the development of computer science and programming skills among young talents, as well as foster international ties between participating countries.
Looking ahead to the upcoming challenge, Trifiró explained that they will face problems that will require the use of algorithms and mathematical reasoning. "I expect to learn a lot; this is my first experience in a selective competition, and I think it's a unique opportunity. I also want to be able to put into practice everything I've learned so far and help the team achieve the highest ranking," he said.
The challenge of competing
His connection with academic competitions began in childhood, when he participated in the Ñandú Math Olympiad. He later expanded his interests to the field of computer science. Last November, along with Fabricio Valero and Lucio Intelangelo, he won first prize in the secondary school category at TecnoMate, a programming competition organized by the UTN Santa Fe and the provincial Ministry of Education.
The new member of the team that will represent the country in Bolivia recalled his previous experiences and how they helped him grow within the sport. “They made me improve a lot. In fact, I can say that thanks to this, I was able to qualify this time to be part of the Argentine team that goes to the World Cup. I participated in the Argentine Informatics Olympiad. The first year I reached the national stage, but I didn't have much practice. However, the second year I was very close to the selection, finishing seventh, and this year, when I dedicated the most time to preparing, I managed to advance with good results,” he explained, adding: “The experiences are very enriching and really help you a lot, not only in learning but also in how to strategize your time and how to manage yourself in the competition because your mind plays a big role, and I believe those experiences are fundamental.”
La Universidad Nacional de Rosario It has a great reputation within the discipline and boasts a rich history of competitors over the years. “I'm proud to be the UNR representative on the team. It's a very important institution, and I've been a part of it since I was 12. My training at the Poli was fundamental; it gave me the tools to perform in these types of competitions. Not only because of the teaching hours, but also because of the workshops, which are essential, with very dedicated instructors who teach and prepare you so you can participate at the highest level. In my case, Sebastián Mestre, who is the coach of the Poli's Computer Science Olympiad, helped me a lot in this instance,” he concluded.
By: Gonzalo J. García