Australian team selected for 2026 European Girls’ Informatics Olympiad
Four exceptional students will represent Australia at the 2026 European Girls’ Informatics Olympiad (EGOI) in Italy, held from 12–18 May.
The Australian Maths Trust (AMT) announced the team in an online Ceremony on Wednesday 15 April 2026, following a competitive national selection process.
The students selected to represent Australia are:
- Jenny He (Year 11), Pymble Ladies’ College, NSW
- Alexa Wu (Year 10), Pymble Ladies’ College, NSW
- Ayana Fridkin (Year 11), Caulfield Grammar School, Victoria
- Lucy O’Shea (Year 12), Girton Grammar School, Victoria
Three members of the team — Alexa, Jenny and Ayana — return after representing competing at EGOI in 2025, where all team members earned medals. Lucy O’Shea will make her EGOI debut this year.
EGOI is a premier international competition for girls and non‑binary students with a passion for computer science. Launched in 2021, EGOI brings students from many countries together in Europe and plays a vital role in promoting gender diversity and excellence in informatics and computational thinking.
Australia first competed at EGOI in 2024, with the students achieving strong results over the past two years of competition. Earning three bronze medals in 2024, followed by a remarkable all‑medal performance in 2025, including two gold medals.
“The success of our students at EGOI shows how vital it is to support girls to excel in algorithmics and informatics — they will play an important role in shaping the future of Australia’s digital and scientific leadership,” said Mat Meriaux, CEO of the Australian Maths Trust.
The EGOI initiative is supported by Jane Street, Major Partner of the AMT’s Olympiad Program, Optiver, Olympiad Program Partner, and UNSW Sydney, strategic higher education partner of the AMT.
For more information visit EGOI 2026
MEDIA CONTACT: For additional information including photos and interview opportunities with the EGMO team contact Gabi Reid, AMT Communications & Publications Manager – 0439 582 720 gabi.reid@amt.edu.au
MEDIA BACKGROUNDER
Jenny He – Year 11, Pymble Ladies’ College, NSW
Jenny has always enjoyed the thrill and challenge of problem-solving. What excites her most in informatics is the satisfaction of finally arriving at a solution. Jenny is especially looking forward to competing and to connecting with other young women who share her passion for informatics. Her advice to other informatics students is “keep going and never give up. Practice consistently, and don’t be afraid of a challenge.”
Alexa Wu – Year 10, Pymble Ladies’ College, NSW
Alexa won an individual bronze medal in 2024 as part of the first Australian team to compete at EGOI and looks forward to meeting more cool, interesting people from other countries this year. She enjoys the adrenaline of competition and the satisfaction of solving difficult puzzles. Alexa recalls her first AMT informatics camp as the time that she really discovered the many interesting problems, techniques and people involved in informatics and how it gave her the confidence to keep working at it.
Ayana Fridkin – Year 11, Caulfield Grammer School, VIC
Ayana won a bronze medal at EGOI last year. She likes being able to solve problems with technology and says, ‘coding feels like speaking a different language’. Ayana pursues many other interests such as piano, drums, singing, theatre club, cycling and soccer and first started to become invested in informatics in year 6 when she attended the AMT School of Excellence for coding, here manipulating complex ideas to solve problems sparked her interest. Her advice to other girls interested in informatics is to “be persistent”.
Lucy O’Shea – Yr 12, Girton Grammar School, VIC
Lucy is an Informatics contestant from Bendigo, Victoria and the first person from her city to compete in an informatics Olympiad. She discovered EGOI through the Curious Minds program in Year 9 and never looked back. Her favorite area is graph theory, and outside of comp she’s a debating captain, multi-instrumentalist, and current theatre kid. She can’t wait to meet informaticians from around the world at EGOI!