For the second year running, the Institute of Linguistics and Language Technology, ILLT, is organising the Linguistics Olympiad Malta, LOM, one of a large number of national competitions linking to the International Linguistics Olympiad, IOL. The LOM aims to help students develop problem-solving skills through working out puzzles based on data from different languages. It targets ALL students, not just languages or humanities-oriented ones, and fits in with the STEM, or more recently STEAM, philosophy, which aims directly to encourage the development of critical thinking, creativity and collaboration skills. Less directly the competition aims to inspire students to consider study and career paths at the intersection of language, linguistics, data science and computing.
A team of academics from the ILLT co-ordinated by Prof. Alexandra Vella, with help from a number of current as well as former students, organised plenary information sessions targeting pre-University students. These were immediately plunged into the world of puzzles involving the analysis of data from a wide variety of often unfamiliar languages. Schools were encouraged to identify interested students and organise sessions to help them prepare for the competition. A few Sixth Forms organised a dedicated club for this purpose.
The novelty this year is that, thanks to funding obtained from the Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation, it will be possible for a Malta team to compete in the IOL which will be held in Brasilia, Brazil in July 2024. A team to represent Malta at the IOL in Brazil will be chosen from amongst those who place best in the second of two competitions, the Individual Competition, which will be held on 12 April 2024 (registration is possible online).
The Team Competition took place on 16 February 2024. 24 students from 7 Sixth Forms (up from 18 students from 3 Sixth Forms) took part and the winners will be announced at an Award Ceremony which will be held 12 April 2024. A prize will be awarded to the winning team from the Team Competition, whilst all participants will also receive a certificate of participation.
We would like to thank all who are contributing to making this event a success, starting with the Sixth Forms and the contact persons at each of these, the administrative and academic staff of the ILLT, other ILLT students, including the Association of Linguistics and Language Technology (ALLT), and all participating students: please spread the word about this event! Queries on any aspect of the LOM can be sent by email.