Since 1993, under the auspices of UNESCO, an international competition in writing philosophical essays has been held for students in the penultimate and final years of secondary schools under the name International Philosophy Olympiad (IPO). The goal of the competition is to support the enhancement of critical thinking.

Currently, national rounds of the International Philosophy Olympiad are held in 53 countries of the world. The winners of the national qualifying rounds attend the international round, which is always held in a different country. Since 2016, Slovak students can also participate in this international competition through the Slovak Philosophy Olympiad, which is organized by the Department of Philosophy of the Faculty of Arts and Letters, Catholic University in Ruzomberok.

130 students from all over Slovakia applied for the Olympiad this year. On October 25, 2022, after their arrival, they were welcomed by the dean of the faculty Marek Babic and Jan Hrkut, the main organizer from the department of philosophy. Consequently, students were asked to write their philosophical essays within the 120-minute limit.

While students were writing their essays, their high school teachers visited the faculty and attended a didactic seminar on methods that can be used in teaching humanities and social sciences subjects.

The results of the Slovak round of the Olympiad will be announced by the end of November 2022. The authors of the best 20 papers will be invited to the second qualifying round (writing essays in English). Authors of the two best essays will qualify to represent Slovakia at the International Philosophy Olympiad in Greece in May 2023.