Russia Launches a National AI Award to Spotlight Educators, Students, and Innovators

Russia’s largest coding festival is adding a new prize: an award designed to boost artificial intelligence education and celebrate the people who spread the technology across classrooms, labs, and online platforms.

The RuCode Festival, a nationwide event that last year drew nearly 400,000 participants, has announced the creation of a new award recognizing contributions in artificial intelligence. The goal is to highlight the use and promotion of AI in education, spanning everyone from school students to professors, tech bloggers, and institutions.

Both commercial and non-profit organizations engaged in science and education will be eligible. The award’s objectives include supporting schools as they build AI competencies, fostering a community of practitioners, sharing success stories of technology adoption, and broadening AI’s presence in academic spaces.

Applications are open until September 30. A selection round will take place October 1–10, followed by public voting on two categories — “AI Guru” and “Master of Generations” — from October 11–20. Expert evaluation will conclude later in the month, with a final awards ceremony set for November 13 in Moscow.

The scale of the initiative signals ambition. RuCode has branded this season under the motto “Artificial Intelligence in the Space of Science and Technology,” and starting in 2025, the festival will go international as an annual event. Organizers say the new prize is not just a trophy, but a step toward building a sustainable professional AI community in Russia.