BANGKOK — 13 July 2026, Thai youth have once again made their mark on the international stage after a 12-year-old Thai boy won gold and silver medals in computer programming at the International STEM Olympiad – Grand Final Round in Rome, Italy, following an online preliminary stage that attracted more than 10,000 participants from around the world.
Nipun Skyz Lua, a Year 7 student, competed in the Grand Final held from 2–8 July in Rome, where 714 participants from 54 countries took part. The competition’s online preliminary stage attracted more than 10,000 participants from 150 countries.
Competing in two coding disciplines, Nipun secured medals in both events:
• Gold medal — Code Combat
• Silver medal — Code Mentum
Both competitions tested far more than coding proficiency, placing a strong emphasis on analytical thinking and problem-solving using the Python programming language under strict time limits.
In the Code Combat category, contestants were required to apply core programming concepts, including variables, conditional statements (if/else), loops and functions, to design efficient sets of instructions that enabled a computer to solve assigned challenges accurately and effectively.
The Code Mentum category presented even more advanced challenges, focusing on algorithm design and complex problem-solving. Competitors were required to develop the most accurate, efficient and fastest solutions to increasingly difficult programming tasks.
According to the competition’s award system, gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded to top-performing contestants based on their results in each category, rather than representing first, second and third place overall.
Nipun’s achievement highlights that international coding competitions are designed not simply to assess how well students memorise programming languages, but to evaluate logical thinking, analytical ability and the capacity to translate ideas into instructions that computers can execute.
Winning one gold medal and one silver medal at the age of just 12 marks another significant achievement for Thailand and showcases the potential of Thai youth in science, technology and computer programming on the global stage.
