The International Olympiad in Informatics is one of the most recognized computer science competitions in the world. The competition tasks are of algorithmic nature; however, the contestants have to show such basic IT skills as problem analysis, design of algorithms and data structures, programming and testing.

Team of Belarus, IOI 2010 competition: Gennady Korotkevich, Pavel Kalinnikov, Yauheni Hrytskevich and Aliaksei Kolesau.

Official site of IOI: http://www.ioinformatics.org/

This online project was created by 3P Learning for school students aged 5-18. World Maths Day allows participants to “compete in real time to correctly answer mental arithmetic questions in quick-fire 60 second games,” describes voxy.co.nz.

Last year, this online activity brought together about 2 million students from 204 countries. World Maths Day 2010 will try “to set a Guinness World Record for the Largest Online Maths Competition,” said a representative of the event’s creator.

Don’t worry if it is too late for your child to register this year: World Maths Day has big plans for March 2011. And keep in mind: kids are always welcome to improve their skills at fun and exciting math using a free educational online game… Driving Kids!

What do you think is more expensive for parents: to pay for kindergarten or for university? In China, for instance, EducationNews.org writes that “kindergarten costs more than college.”

According to Chinese parents and teachers, it is hardly possible “to find a reputable kindergarten in Beijing that charges less than 1,000 renminbi ($150) a month, which is a quarter of an average salary in the capital.” At the same time, “tuition and accommodation at Peking University, the country’s best” require a little bit more than $100 per month.

Unfortunately, high childcare costs would seem to be typical nowadays not only for China. “Childcare costs in England, Wales and Scotland are continuing to rise, a survey by the Daycare Trust suggests,” the BBC informs us. For example, “in Wales, nursery fees for children aged two and above rose by 11.3%.”

Sure, childcare and education have never been the cheapest things in the world. But should it be really so expensive nowadays? And what could you propose to make these services more accessible?