Welcome to the world's first gamified coding competition in which three coding languages are used in synch. It is an individual coding competition and category in which students from grade 2 to 12 can compete in Block, Python, and JavaScript programs.

With this competition, even those who do not know how to code will be motivated to learn. According to the collaboration with CODEMENTUM, students who participate in the coding category organized by STEM Olympiad will receive a free membership to the CODEMENTUM platform until 31 July 2024. Students can study the program language they prefer and complete the challenges until the Coding exams.

The Coding Category includes Qualification Exams and Final Coding Exams. The BOB exams (the best of the best) will not be held in this category.

The International STEM Olympiad promotes the motivation and success of students in grades 2 and 3 in particular. Thus, all grades 2 and 3 students who take the STEM Olympiad Qualification Exams will advance to the Final Exams and will be rewarded based on their exam results.

 * Exam Language: English 

 The exams include 30 challenges and a zoom connection with one camera is required on exam day. 

Challenges in Qualification and Coding Final are prepared in 2 levels. Students in grades 2-4 will solve the same challenges, while students in grades 5-12 will solve the same challenges. Each grade will be evaluated independently, and the results will be announced accordingly. 

There will be no multiple-choice questions in the coding category. This is a competition in which participants can use any of the programming languages Block, Python or JavaScript.

Following the Coding Finals the top 3 students in grades 5 through 11 will receive special discounts for participation in the Grand Final Program, provided that all other participation conditions are met. Please check the awards link for more information on these conditions.

Please check the Subject link in the Syllabus menu for exam topics in the Coding Category.

1. Which topics will be covered in the Qualification and Final Round challenges?

Codementum Studio - Topics of the Qualification Round Challenges:

Coding Adventure 1
The Basics
Repeat Loops
Variables
Arrays
For Loops
Helper Methods
Conditional Expressions - if

Coding Adventure 2
Conditional Expressions - if elif
Conditional Expressions - if else
Boolean Logic
While Loops
Functions
Parameters
Comparison Operators

Codementum Studio - Topics of the Final Round Challenges:

Coding Adventure 1
The Basics
Repeat Loops
Variables
Arrays
For Loops
Helper Methods
Conditional Expressions - if

Coding Adventure 2
Conditional Expressions - if elif
Conditional Expressions - if else
Boolean Logic
While Loops
Functions
Parameters
Comparison Operators

Coding Adventure 3
AND OR NOT
Return Value
Events
Lists
Sets
Dictionaries
Mathematical operations

Coding Adventure 4
Debugging
Functions with Parameters
Character String Methods
Modules
Time and Datetime Modules
Defining Classes
Database

2. What should students study in the Codementum portal? Where and how should someone with no coding experience start studying?

- Students are only required to study with Codementum Studio, which provides gamified coding training. You can start your training in the studio by clicking the "Start Coding" button. Anyone with no coding experience can start the training by clicking the "Start Coding" button. You will be able to start coding easily with sample challenges.

3. Which programming language should we focus on learning? Block, Python or Java? Could you provide a brief description of the 3 coding languages available in Codementum?

- Codementum provides training in all 3 programming languages. A student can start the coding adventure by choosing one of 3 languages below based on his/her ability and preferences:
a) Block Coding > Visual/Graphical Coding
b) Python > Text-Based Coding
c) JavaScript > Text-Based Coding

4. Which programming language will be used for the challenges in the competition?

- The challenges in the competition can be solved using any of the 3 programming languages. Participants are free to use any language they prefer.

5. What criteria will be used to determine the ranking?  Is there a level difference between the challenges, and if so, what is the difference?

- The level of the provided content will be Basic for grades 2-3-4 and Advanced for grades 5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12, depending on the grade. A ranking will be made for each grade individually based on the results.

6. Is it appropriate to evaluate how successful the participants were in their challenges when they used three different programming languages?

- The aim here is to provide equal opportunity. There is no difference in solving the same challenge in three languages. A student can create the algorithm and obtain the result using any method.