CodeLab by StratsLabStart your adventure with the Junior Olympiad in Informatics!

Wersja polska

Free, in-person programming workshops for school years 6–8, run by StratsLab engineers.

Sign up (the form is in Polish) →Learn about the OIJ

You can join at any time: just come to the next session, or see the full schedule.

WhoPupils in primary school years 6–8
Hours18:00–19:30, once a week
FormatIn person, with your own laptop
CostFree of charge
LanguageClasses are taught in Polish

Why join?

01

Growth

Olympiad problems build logical thinking and algorithmic skill like nothing else, and that pays off at every later stage of education.

02

Satisfaction

Cracking a hard problem on your own brings real joy and the motivation to keep learning.

03

Community

You will meet peers who share your interests, in a setting that takes those interests seriously.

04

An edge in admissions

A strong OIJ result often helps with admission to the top secondary schools.

05

Who teaches

Classes are run by StratsLab engineers with olympiad and professional experience.

06

Track record

This is our second year running the course. Last year participants rated us 8.44 out of 10, and nine of our participants qualified for the second stage.

Tracks and schedule

Choose your track

Algorithmics workshops for those who already program, for instance working with arrays and indexing elements. Ambitious beginners can follow both tracks at once.

When
Tuesdays, 18:00–19:30 (until 29 September: 17:15–18:45)
Sessions
12 sessions, from 15 September to 1 December
Join our course on Szkopuł →Group ranking →
From OctoberFaculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics UW (MIMUW)

ul. Stefana Banacha 2, 02-097 Warszawa
Room 2070

Show on the map →
No.DateWhereMaterials
115.09Psychology UW, room 3.01Joint opening for both tracks
222.09Psychology UW, room 3.15OIJ knowledge test ↗Solutions ↗
329.09Psychology UW, room 3.15Równanie ↗Chwasty ↗
406.10MIMUW, room 2070The stack data structure (problems from the previous OIJ)Brackets ↗Broken keyboard ↗
513.10MIMUW, room 2070
620.10MIMUW, room 2070
727.10MIMUW, room 2070
803.11MIMUW, room 2070
910.11MIMUW, room 2070
1017.11MIMUW, room 2070
1124.11MIMUW, room 2070
1201.12MIMUW, room 2070
Are the classes in English?

No, sessions are taught in Polish, and the materials are in Polish too, so your child needs to be comfortable following along in Polish. No programming experience is needed for the beginner track.

Which course is for beginners?

The “learning to program from scratch” track, meaning the Wednesday sessions. You do not need to know any programming language or have any earlier experience: we start from zero. We teach in Python because it is the simplest language to start with, but this is a course for people who are only just beginning, not for those who already know Python. The algorithmics workshops (Tuesdays) are for people who have programmed before.

Which language do we program in?

We work mainly in Python. Anyone who knows C++ is welcome at the OIJ workshops: what matters most is the ability to think logically, and the programming language itself is secondary.

Are the classes in person?

Yes, the classes are fully in person. We meet on the UW Ochota campus in Warsaw, and participants work on their own laptops. The exact place for each track is in the schedule. There is no online track.

What are the sessions like?

Both tracks are run as workshops: part of the time goes to discussing a problem or an algorithm, and the rest to writing code yourself. Each session runs 90 minutes, with a short break in the middle. Sessions and materials are in Polish.

Do parents need to attend?

No. Parents do not need to be present in either track.

The first session has already taken place. Can I still join?

Yes. You can join the classes at any point.

Can I invite a friend?

Yes. Registration stays open, so you can invite friends. New people can join from the next session onwards.

What should I do if I miss one of the sessions?

Before every session we send out a list of problems to work through on your own.

What is the OIJ?

The Junior Olympiad in Informatics (Olimpiada Informatyczna Juniorów, OIJ) is Poland's national algorithmics and programming competition for primary school pupils. Participants solve problems that call for logical thinking and a knowledge of algorithms.

Does taking part in the OIJ help with secondary school admission?

Yes. Reaching stage III guarantees priority in admission to secondary school.

Appendix

Materials for learning to program

For younger children

Worth trying from the first years of primary school