The European University of Canarias, in collaboration with Harbour.Space University and the Cabildo de Tenerife through the Science and Technology Park of Tenerife (PCTT), has launched the first edition of the Canary Islands Artificial Intelligence Olympiad. This event is aimed at students aged 12 to 18 with the goal of identifying, training, and promoting young Canary Islands talent in the field of AI.

Nearly fifty students from ESO and Bachillerato participated in this first call. Eight of them have been awarded and will become part of the first Canary Islands AI Selection. Among the winners are students from institutions such as Colegio Santa Rosa de Lima FESD, Centro educativo Britanico S21 La Laguna, Colegio Arenas Sur, The British School of Tenerife, and IES Valle Guerra.

The awards were presented by the rector of the European University of Canarias, Cristiana Oliveira; the managing director of the PCTT, Olga Martín; the co-founder and CEO of Harbour.Space University, Svelana Velikanova; and the vice-dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, José Serrano.

Cristiana Oliveira highlighted that the initiative underscores the university's commitment to young talent, defining it as a "platform for talent, applied knowledge, and support with local institutions." She added that the objective is to "train and retain talent in the Canary Islands" and facilitate students' transition to higher education.

Olga Martín emphasized the importance of the Cabildo de Tenerife's collaboration in promoting specialized training in strategic areas like AI, a key technology for the professional and business future. She stressed that the PCTT aims to foster innovative skills to face the challenges of digital transformation.

Svetlana Velikanova noted that the training platform used is the same one that prepares teams for the International AI Olympiad, and proudly mentioned that over a hundred Canary Islands educational centers have free access to this training year-round, demonstrating that "talent knows no geography."

The winning students will receive a scholarship for the first AI high-performance center in Spain, which will take place in Puerto de la Cruz, and will have access to online training programs from Harbour.Space, an entity accredited by the International Olympiad in AI.

The olympiad consisted of two rounds: a qualifying asynchronous round and a second live round, which determined the members of the First Canary Islands Artificial Intelligence Selection.