About us
History
Founded by Daniel Berdichevsky, the first World Scholar’s Cup took place in Korea in 2007: a small regional tournament hosted at the Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies. The first “global” round followed a few weeks later, bringing together students from Korea, Singapore, and the United States.
The idea behind the World Scholar’s Cup was to create something different than traditional academic competitions and conferences: a celebration of the joy of learning, a tournament as rewarding for the team that came in last as for the team that came in first, an enrichment opportunity that motivated students not just to demonstrate their existing strengths but to discover new ones.
From that small beginning—a “world finals” more aptly described as a “world starts”—the World Scholar’s Cup has grown to reach tens of thousands of students in dozens of countries.
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2026
The 2026 theme: Are We There Yet?.
Global Rounds in Kuala Lumpur, Prague, Seoul, Shanghai, Bangkok and Da Nang, with Mini Global Rounds in Dubai and Christchurch.
Online registration arrives for the 2026–27 season.
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2025
The 2025 theme: Reigniting the Future.
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2024
The 2024 theme: Reimagining the Present.
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2023
The 2023 theme: Reconstructing the Past.
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2022
The 2022 theme: A World Re-Renewed.
Global Rounds include Bangkok.
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2020
The 2020 theme: A World Renewed.
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2019
The 2019 theme: A World on the Margins.
Global Rounds include Manila, Sydney and The Hague.
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2018
The 2018 theme: An Entangled World.
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2017
New regional rounds take place in Auckland, Islamabad, Osh, Pavlodar, Moscow, Amsterdam, Kyushu, Bangalore, Muscat, New York, San Jose, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Qingdao.
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2016
3450 scholars take part in the Bangkok Global Round, where Daniel rides into opening ceremonies on a tuk-tuk and Chauncey makes his debut on the global round stage team; an additional 500 participate in Prague.
Worldwide, 12,650 scholars attend nearly 100 regional rounds.
New regional rounds take place in Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Darwin, Adelaide, Bishkek, Athens, Almaty, Calgary, Durban, Elverum, Vancouver, Kampala, Suzhou, Kanpur, Shenzhen, Lahore, Sarajevo, Lusaka, Rio de Janeiro, Montreal, Victoria, and Yangon.
Skittles makes his first appearance.
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2015
The 2015 Global Round in Kuala Lumpur welcomes 2650 scholars and introduces the first cultural fair; an additional 150 scholars attend the Dublin Global Round.
New regional rounds take place in Accra, Ljubljana, Hanoi, Amman, Chennai, Washington D.C., Astana, Dehradun, Guangzhou, Johannesburg, Patna, Santiago, Mogadishu, and Sofia.
The World Scholar’s Cup acquires its first live alpaca, Painted Warrior.
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2014
The 2014 Global Round welcomes 2400 scholars in Singapore.
The first ever primary rounds are held in Dubai and Shanghai for scholars ages 7 to 10.
New regional rounds take place in Abu Dhabi, Doha, Bahrain, Ho Chi Minh City, Istanbul, Budapest, Jeju, Mumbai, Penang, Perth, Switzerland, Surabaya, and Kansai.
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2013
Scholars are first asked to take a selfie with their clickers.
1500 scholars attend the 2013 Global Round in Dubai.
Jerry makes his first appearance.
New regional rounds take place in Izmir, Nairobi, Prague, and Shanghai.
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2012
The first World Scholar's Camp comes to Singapore!
The Yale University International Relations Association is proud to host the first annual World Scholar's Cup Tournament of Champions.
The Texas regional round is the first to feature live alpacas. Our founder pwaas in amazement.
New regional rounds in Kenya, Hong Kong, Costa Rica, Hungary, France, the United Kingdom, Israel, and Japan. World Scholar’s Cup staff jetlagged.
The 2012 Global Round in Bangkok introduces 1,001 students to the elusive Japanese alpaca.
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2011
Alpaca population in North America reaches 125,000; World Scholar’s Cup population 12,500.
The 2011 Global Round in Kuala Lumpur features 800 top scholars from 30 different countries...and the very first Scholar's Ball (a.k.a. Nerd Prom)
First-ever alpaca wedding held at a regional round. Founder officiates.
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2010
First Scholar's Scavenge leads students to sing on the streets of Singapore.
The first Scholar's Show erupts spontaneously in Dubai while the World Scholar’s Cup staff is in a taxi.
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2009
First rounds in Dubai, Beijing, Jakarta, Australia, and former Soviet Georgia.
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2008
The United States wins its last title. Singapore teams have won every year since.
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2007
First regional rounds in Thailand, Singapore, and Arizona.
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2006
Alpaca defeats emu; is elected program mascot.
The first World Scholar's Cup takes place in Seoul. People Come. Founder is pleased.