Abstract:

This contribution presents an analysis of seventy-five years of the Polish Olympiad in Literature and Language (OLiJP), with particular attention to three key areas that illustrate how a long-standing humanities competition has responded to major educational disruptions. First, the analysis considers the two editions organised fully in a digital format during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020 and 2021), which revealed both the limitations of remote oral components and the advantages of digital submission of written work, including improved legibility and more efficient archiving in the later stages of the competition. Second, it examines the emerging challenges associated with students’ widespread access to Large Language Models from 2022 onwards, which significantly affected the authenticity of take-home assignments and required substantial procedural adaptations to ensure fairness and maintain the principle of independent authorship. Third, the contribution highlights the role of remote participation opportunities for students outside Poland, with particular emphasis on participants from Ukraine, for whom digital access - especially since the outbreak of war in 2022 - became the only viable way to engage in a high-level educational event.

Established in 1970, OLiJP plays a central role in supporting students’ interest in literature and language studies. The rapid digital transformation of recent years and the rise of generative AI tools have introduced new expectations and risks for competition organisers. The pandemic period exposed considerable variation in digital literacy among both students and teachers, while simultaneously enabling the observation of new forms of engagement and work strategies within digital environments. At the same time, the increasing availability of generative tools raised concerns about the integrity of written work intended to reflect independent, creative thinking. These developments provided a major impetus for revising the structure of the 56th edition of the competition.

Drawing on organisational experience from 2020–2024, involving more than a thousand participants annually, this contribution illustrates how safeguarding academic integrity has become increasingly complex in the era of generative AI. The findings indicate that contemporary humanities education requires a balance between the tradition of rigorous writing and the informed, critical use of digital technologies. The presentation demonstrates how OLiJP, while remaining committed to its mission, is adapting to twenty-first-century realities by fostering fair competition, authentic learner development and resilience in times of educational disruption.

Keywords:

Educational disruption, digital transformation, academic integrity, Large Language Models, generative AI, remote participation, cross-border education, humanities education, crisis response, digital literacy, assessment practices, Poland, Ukraine.