Programs Team FAQ
Join Discord

SOTA: Learning AI in the Open, from First Model to Olympiad

Founding team · [email protected]

Abstract

SOTA is an AI community built primarily for students preparing for the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (IOAI), and open to anyone who wants to learn. We host guest speaker sessions with specialists from industry, and run olympiad preparation, mentorship and open-source projects, all on Discord [1]. Our 500+ members include high school and college students, and everyone learns alongside olympiad medalists.

Keywords: IOAI preparation, machine learning, guest speakers, mentorship, open source

Join the Discord See what we do →

1Introduction

In machine learning papers, the best result so far is called the state of the art. It is the number printed in bold:

SOTA=arg maxmscore(m) (1)

We named our community after it. SOTA is built for students aiming at IOAI, and it is open to anyone who wants to get there, whether you are learning from scratch, studying AI in college, or building your own tools. We learn in the open, and curiosity leads.

2What we do

2.1Guest speakers

Sessions on Discord with guest speakers, specialists from different parts of the AI industry.

2.2Olympiad preparation

A study guide to the IOAI syllabus [2], still being written, plus mock contests and training sessions run by past olympiad qualifiers.

2.3Mentorship

Guidance from students who have competed at IOAI, whether you are stuck on a bug or deciding what to learn next.

2.4Open-source projects

Build AI tools in the open with other members, and learn how real projects come together.

3How to join

There is no application. The whole procedure is Algorithm 1.

Algorithm 1 Joining SOTA
Require: curiosity about AI, any experience level
Ensure: you are part of the community
  1. join the Discord server [1]
  2. say hello and tell us what you want to learn
  3. while there is a guest session, project or mock contest do
  4. show up, ask questions, help someone else
  5. end while
  6. return something you built and are proud of

Our team

Aarav Vishal Sharma
Aarav Vishal Sharma
Roumak Das
Roumak Das
Savyasachi Singh
Savyasachi Singh
Rayan Banerjee
Rayan Banerjee
Figure 1: The founding team of SOTA. Follow the community on LinkedIn [3].
Meet the whole team →

References

  1. [1]SOTA Discord server. discord.gg/RAk9r2JtzC
  2. [2]SOTA IOAI Guide. Work in progress, written by members. guide.sota-ai.org
  3. [3]SOTA – AI Community on LinkedIn. linkedin.com/company/sota-community
  4. [4]Contact the founding team. [email protected]

AFrequently asked questions

A.1What is SOTA?

An AI community built mainly for IOAI aspirants and open to everyone, with olympiad preparation, guest speaker sessions, mentorship and hands-on projects.

A.2Who can join?

Anyone interested in AI, whatever your experience level. SOTA is built mainly for IOAI aspirants, and many of our members are college students.

A.3How do I prepare for AI olympiads?

Start with the IOAI Guide [2], which follows the official syllabus topic by topic, then try our mock contests and the training sessions run by past olympiad qualifiers. Mentors are on Discord.

A.4Can I contribute to SOTA?

Yes. You can volunteer, create content such as modules for the IOAI Guide, help organize events or become a mentor. Say so on Discord or email us.

BPast contests

Table 1: Contests SOTA has run, newest first.
ContestRanTracks
December ContestDec 2025 – Jan 2026Classical ML, NLP, computer vision
October ContestOct 2025 – Nov 2025Classical ML, NLP, computer vision