SOCrates—an online service that aggregates everything needed for the All-Russian Olympiad in Social Sciences in one place, helping students navigate toward the Olympiad diploma with a clear plan.
The Challenge
At every stage of the Olympiad, the student encounters tasks spanning numerous disciplines within the social sciences, and the necessary theory for success is scattered across various sources. This complicates preparation due to the need to locate reliable materials and the lack of a clear progression for mastering the theory at the outset, taking valuable time away from high school students.
Why this matters: A diploma for a laureate or winner of the All-Russian School Olympiad grants the holder the right to admission without entrance exams (BVI) into relevant majors at any university in Russia.
How does the project solve this?
The service replaces dozens of browser tabs with a single preparatory route:1. Learn. Topics are grouped into modules: sociology, politics, philosophy, culture, economics, logic, and law. Each module is divided into thematic blocks, accompanied by a user-friendly summary and an AI assistant that explains complex ideas in simple terms.
2. Self-Assessment. After each block, there is practice using real past exam questions and new questions (original and AI-generated based on the existing question bank) in the same formats, with automatic checking by the AI assistant based on established criteria. AI-generated questions undergo auditing by site methodologists. Furthermore, users can immediately access questions on specified topics in the «Simulator» section.
3. Practice. Mock Olympiad rounds are automatically compiled from the question bank. After solving the problems, the student sees which topics need review and returns to them.
What the student gains: Instead of asking, «Where do I start?», they see a clear plan and their own progress.
*The image displays a preliminary website navigation concept generated using Claude Sonnet 5.5.
Format
What is being created: an educational online service in the form of a website (which may later be supplemented with a mobile application), featuring three sections—"Theory,» «Simulator,» and «Trial Tours.»
Key feature: the tasks in the simulator and trial tours are based not only on past years' assignments but also on an extensive proprietary database of tasks. AI assists in generating new variations in the same formats, ensuring the practice materials will be sufficient for a long time.
Who it is for: students in grades 8–11 who are preparing for the All-Russian Olympiad in Social Sciences, as well as their teachers.
Preliminary concept of the simulator’s working interface, generated with AI. Model used: Claude Sonnet 5.5
Image Sources
- Author unknown. Solemn closing ceremony of the final stage of the All-Russian School of Humanities Olympiad. March 29, 2025. Source: https://vk.ru/album-151233763_3092050282. Generated by generative AI model (Claude Sonnet 5.5, URL: https://claude.ai/)3. Generated by generative AI model (Claude Sonnet 5.5, URL: https://claude.ai/)
