Madagascar – From Idea to Reality: A Look Back at the Digital Olympiads Final
The digital olympiads are annual internal competitions where five groups of preparatory class students each take on challenges set by our partners. Not only they are a valuable opportunity for our youth to apply their knowledge, but also to showcase their impressive growth.
On August 29th, the grand final of the 2025 edition was held on the Passerelles Numériques Madagascar campus in Antananarivo, bringing together all PNM staff, the teachers who served as jury members, partner organizations, and several alumni from previous cohorts.
Five Teams, Five Challenges: They are ready to give it all
This year, five teams of ten students each (structured in sub-groups of 5 students from the Science, Technology & Digital and 5 students from the Literature, Communication & Digital), guided by an ideation coach, competed on projects assigned by random draw.
The five projects in question:
- MUS’ART: A project from the Museum of Art and Archaeology focusing on digitizing the Zafimaniry collection through an online platform.
- ECOGAMERS: A project from Malagasy Brand Communication aimed at promoting eco-friendly practices through a mobile game.
- INSEREOO: A challenge from Passerelles Numériques Madagasikara, designed to guide users toward digital careers through online tests.
- SEKURA: A challenge proposed by an association of lawyers, with the goal of creating an online reporting platform for gender-based violence.
- ZURA: An AI-powered chatbot project assigned by Medulla. The bot will provide solutions to clients’ IT issues and generate support tickets when needed.
They were as determined as ever and truly committed to bringing these ambitious projects to life. Together, our young talents demonstrated outstanding teamwork and delivered excellent results despite the time constraints and the recurring power outages in Antananarivo.
The Winners of the 2025 Edition
The Country Director of Passerelles Numériques Madagascar officially opened the ceremony with a welcome speech that was both motivating and impactful. This was followed by the introduction of the jury members and the ideation coaches. Each group of students then took turns presenting their working methodology, the concepts they adopted, and concluded with a lively and dynamic demonstration of the results of their hard work.
The juries’ evaluation was based on several criteria, including graphic design and visual identity, the concept, teamwork, presentation, compliance with the guidelines, and client satisfaction (the organization which assigned the project).
This year’s edition concluded with an award ceremony for the sub-groups of students that most impressed the jury:
- The award for Best Science, Technology & Digital sub-group went to the ZURA team, who stood out for the quality of their work and delivered a fully operational chatbot to Medulla.
- The award for Best Literature, Communication & Digital sub-group was given to the SEKURA team, who designed an excellent mock-up of the reporting platform and skillfully developed a communication strategy to raise awareness about gender-based violence.
- Finally, the Juries’ Special Award was presented to the Science, Technology & Digital sub-group of the MUS’ART team, who distinguished themselves both in the content and the delivery of their presentation.
A True Source of Pride for PN: Words from Our Training Manager
These Olympiads not only allowed our young talents to strengthen their ability to work in teams and manage projects, but also gave them a clearer insight into what awaits them in the professional world.
We are truly proud to witness their growth and to see what they are capable to achieve today. Events like this indeed allow us to measure the scope of our actions and to experience the real impact of our program.
Dear Students
The curtain falls on these Digital Olympiads, which will be remembered as a remarkable showcase of your talent in digital innovation and creative engineering. You demonstrated true algorithmic resilience despite the “bugs” of everyday life: power outages and Internet disruptions.
The grand finale was an exceptional moment, crowned with applause and congratulations from our guests from the museum and the association of lawyers, clear proof that your projects combined academic rigor with societal impact.
I would like to give special recognition to Nathan (Training Assistant), who brilliantly took on the role of master of ceremony, as well as to the winning teams with their flagship projects: ZURA, SEKURA, and MUS’ART, true use cases worthy of the best startups.
Finally, I encourage you to keep this momentum alive, to continue “hacking” obstacles, and to prepare with ambition for the great leap into university life, where countless challenges and disruptive projects await you. “
– Tsoavina, Training Manager –
🙏These results could not have been achieved without the support of our dedicated partners: Mr Stephane and Medulla, Malagasy Brand Communication, Maître Rindra, Representatives of the Museum of Archaeology, Mrs. Heritiana, Mr. Miary, Mr. Toky and Mr. Serge.