From Nationwide Contests to Global Insights: How Gaiane Simonian Turned Online School Contests Into a National EdTech Engine

The mastermind behind the largest academic competition strategy shares how an inclusive, scalable approach is able to turn monthly challenges into a growth engine 

Picture a school gym during a spelling bee or math contest. Now take that energy online—real-time, nationwide, and inclusive.

By the end of 2024, 14 EdTech unicorns were valued at nearly $40 billion, according to a statistic by HolonIQ. And in 2025, over 75,000 EdTech firms are competing globally, Tracxn reports. This shows just how fast digital learning is growing and how much room there is for meaningful innovation. In such a competitive environment, it is not really easy to win the interest of the audience. Companies can promote in different ways: through content, partnerships, or clever product mechanics; but only a few manage to build real traction at scale.

One proven approach comes from Gaiane Simonian, a recognized EdTech innovator and product leader with a track record in scaling digital education products to national impact. As the former Head of Olympiads and Special Projects at Uchi.ru  — one of Eastern Europe’s largest EdTech platforms — she built and led a 40-person cross-functional team and created online academic competitions that attracted over 12 million users. These weren’t just digital exercises; they became major cultural events embraced by students, teachers, and parents across the country.

Simonian’s expertise combines technical innovation with pedagogical insight. Her methodologies earned international recognition, including the BRICSMath award for “Math Solution of the Year” (2020) and the “Best Social Project of Russia” award (2022). She has also represented Uchi.ru as a semi-finalist speaker at the Global EdTech Startup Awards (2021) and serves on a scholarship board supporting female leaders in economics.

How do competitions give a powerful boost to EdTech? 

Just like any other business, EdTech platforms need to scale, and competitions are a perfect gateway. However, to truly scale, they need to rethink traditional formats. Gaiane Simonian did just that when she turned academic Olympiads (subject-based online competitions popular in Eastern Europe) from niche contests for top students into nationwide events embraced by millions of children. Some of Gaiane’s Olympiads attracted up to 5 million students per month. She launched 16 competitions per academic year, timed with school calendars. Some, like Financial Literacy and Safe Roads, were backed by federal authorities and became national standards.

In 2020, Uchi.ru was ranked as one of the top 2 educational websites in the world by traffic. The Olympiad program became the biggest driver of new user growth across Russia, with copycat products soon appearing at other companies.

So why are they so attractive to students, EdTech businesses, and everyone involved in education? Because:

Competitions Make Learning Exciting 

Most students don’t get excited about tests. But when the same subjects are wrapped in a game-like format, everything changes. Online Olympiads make learning feel like an achievement, not a burden.

The idea was to create online challenges in subjects like math, ecology, and financial literacy — make them free, mobile-friendly, and filled with colorful, kid-approved design. But Gaiane didn’t stop at the idea. She built a full-scale experience around it. Each Olympiad became an interactive adventure, complete with animated mini-games, hidden surprises, and a universe of dinosaur mascots that kids followed like cartoon stars.

“Kids knew who was friends with whom in the mascot universe, what each one loved, and even spotted little hidden surprises expecting frequent participants,” says Gaiane. “It wasn’t just a product — it became a whole world they felt part of.”

Gaiane personally curated the details, working with designers to ensure every detail, from smooth game mechanics to new collectible diplomas.

She made sure each launch felt like a celebration. At monthly gala events, students joined from real classrooms while education officials, journalists, and sponsors tuned in live. The atmosphere was festive, but meticulously planned, down to the certificate designs that kids would proudly hang like posters in their bedrooms. “I saw their photos,” Gaiane recalls. “That’s when I realized we had created something truly joyful.”

They Help Track Real Progress 

“I spoke with hundreds of teachers, and, obviously, they’re overwhelmed,” Gaiane says. “They have huge classes and barely enough time to check homework, give feedback, or understand why a student is falling behind.”

To address this, Gaiane designed a system that uses competitions not just as fun events, but as tools for diagnosing learning gaps. After each Olympiad, teachers received detailed reports that highlighted each student’s strengths and weaknesses. If a student struggled with logic or spatial thinking, for example, the system provided ready-made tasks for extra practice at home.

She also added dashboards to make everything visual and actionable. Teachers could track the progress of the entire class, see which topics had recurring issues, and even prepare year-end reports for school leaders. This helped them work more effectively — and often helped them advance in their careers.

By linking competitions to Uchi.ru’s learning courses, she also improved platform performance. Students kept learning after the contests, boosting key metrics like retention and average time on site. In 2020, Uchi.ru users spent over 20 minutes per session, more than learners on Coursera.

And teachers weren’t left out. Each one received a thank-you letter for every competition they ran, turning their effort into a record of achievements. “I wanted teachers to feel seen and appreciated just like their students,” Gaiane says.

They Open Doors for All Students 

Traditional academic contests often serve only a few top students. But online competitions, when done right, are open to all, giving every child a chance to shine.

She remembers this from her own childhood. “Many national events were in the capital, and I often couldn’t go as I lived too far away, like three hours by plane,” she says. “Once, I won a tech contest, but couldn’t attend the prize camp in Siberia. It was disappointing.”

Her approach reflects that experience. She built competitions that anyone could join no matter where they lived, how well they were doing in school, or whether they had extra support. If a student wasn’t a straight-A student or had special learning needs, they could still take part.

In one case, a teacher asked if a child with special needs should sit out a competition. Gaiane suggested he stay. The boy took his time, figured out the interface with help from classmates, and completed the task calmly. “He just needed space and no pressure,” she says. That moment led Gaiane to add more inclusive features: audio versions of tasks, puzzle colors adapted for color-blind users, and simpler layouts for better navigation.

She also discovered that girls were participating less in programming contests. The platform didn’t track gender, so she asked teachers directly. Many admitted they usually encouraged boys to take part. “These choices happen early,” Gaiane says. “And they send strong signals to both boys and girls.”

To counter that, her team ran campaigns for whole-class participation, added more female mascots, and created special events like hackathons for girls. Over time, more girls joined in. In 2021, a girl named Elizaveta even won the science video contest Gaiane had launched.

These changes didn’t just help a few students, they made the whole product better. A more inclusive experience meant higher engagement, fewer support requests, and stronger loyalty from teachers and parents.

This aligns with the UNESCO Salamanca Statement, which calls on schools to keep inclusion at the center of education. They reminded the world that giving every student, no matter their background or ability, a fair chance isn’t just nice to have. It also relates to the right to participate in academic competitions, doesn’t it?

They Build Lasting Relationships 

Good competitions don’t just bring short-term attention. They build habits, trust, and an ongoing connection. Students return, teachers plan around them, and schools start to rely on them as part of the learning process.

Under Gaiane’s leadership, Uchi.ru introduced mascot characters like Grisha the dinosaur, who quickly became a favorite among kids. Grisha even had his own Instagram page with over 48,000 followers. Students eagerly waited for each new Olympiad, much like a new episode of their favorite show.

Mascots weren’t just decorations. “A mascot helps guide students,” Gaiane explains. “It makes the learning experience feel more natural and connected. It helps with onboarding, storytelling, and gives real-world meaning to abstract ideas.”

She adds that mascots can be especially powerful when they grow beyond the product. “When we saw that students cared about Grisha’s life outside the tasks, we created a separate Instagram account for him. That gave kids another way to stay engaged and feel part of the story.”

For American EdTech CEOs, such reasons can become motivational. In the end, that’s what made the product stick: it gave students a sense of achievement, teachers got real insight, while schools received a reason to return. That is what makes them potent, not their size, but their stickiness.

In a crowded market for apps and platforms, real growth may come not from following the trend but from solving real problems in ways that people love to use.

Have you read?
The World’s Best Medical Schools.
The World’s Best Universities.
The World’s Best International High Schools.
The World’s Best Business Schools.
The World’s Best Fashion Schools.
The World’s Best Hospitality And Hotel Management Schools.