Moscow, April 8 (IANS) Technology-intense development and transformation of all economic sectors make digital skills to be considered the backbone of global competitive ability and innovations.

Digital technology usage in solving business and life problems makes it possible for everyone to create a personal AI assistant.

The line of cybersecurity is becoming one of the most crucial priorities for technological research and development for society, the state, science and business.

Students from 14 to 18 years old from every country can take part in the international IT-Olympics despite the level of programming skills. The registration deadline is April 18.

The IT-Olympics will be held with the support of the Russian government. The government of the Nizhny Novgorod region is the organiser and Sber is the general partner.

According to German Gref, President and Chairman of the Management Board of Sberbank, "Information technology makes it possible to look at the world in a completely different way and link very complex processes that, at first glance, are not connected to each other."

"But this can only be done by managing the entire technological stack. Humanity is on the threshold of gigantic discoveries. You guys live in the most interesting time in the most interesting world, because you have had the opportunity to look beyond the horizon of knowledge that mankind could not even formulate as the end point of this journey," said Gref.

"And you will be able to realise this dream. I would like to wish you good luck for this interesting journey! I am sure you will succeed, because only self-confident people can participate in our International Olympiad, and I congratulate you on that," he added.

At the start, every participant can take an IT competency test and get a certificate based on the results. By April 18, participants will have to individually solve 15 theoretical and practical problems on the key aspects of cybersecurity.

In focus are information security, mathematical logic, fundamentals of algorithmization and programming, data analysis, word processing and AI-based simple modelling.

From April 23 to April 25, the second competition stage will be held – team semi-final. It will be run in Capture the Flag format. The "flag" has the form of a special codeline which confirms that the task is accomplished. Teams will be suggested a set of problems of different difficulties which take an answer (flag) to find and to send.

Teams of 5 people from those who successfully passed the first stage reach the semifinals.

Task topics are AI and machine learning, cryptanalysis, reverse engineering, web vulnerabilities, computer forensics, algorithmic programming.

The 100 participants who score the most points will take part in the face-to-face final. The winners will be determined from May 30 to June 3 at the School 21 campus in Nizhny Novgorod.

The best participants will be awarded at the "Digitalization of Industrial Russia" Conference.