International Machine Learning Competition 2026

IMLC challenges students to understand how machine learning works rather than simply use AI tools. The qualification round covers foundations, optimization, deep learning, frontier models, applications and trustworthy AI. Qualifiers may advance to a supervised pre-final built around a current research paper and then an online final exam. The competition awards certificates to all participants and offers $1,500 in total prizes.

All current high-school and university students from all countries may participate. YourRoute displays the high-school target slice ages 14–18. Official age groups include Junior (10th grade and below and under 16), Youth (11th–13th grade or age 16+), and a Senior university group.

Create/submit through the official participant form, provide current grade/year and school information, and upload one solution file (PDF, JPG, JPEG or PNG) for the Qualification Round. School/teacher email is explicitly optional. Qualified students who continue must complete Pre-Final registration and pay €12 unless receiving financial aid.