Impact of Science Olympiads on the promotion of scientific vocations: a systematic review

Science Olympiads are academic competitions designed to cultivate STEM-related skills and develop scientific vocations through engaging theoretical and practical experiences, aligning with global agendas on quality and equity in education. We conducted a PRISMA-guided systematic review of research published in 2000–2024 across Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, focusing on Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Astronomy, Engineering/Robotics, and multidisciplinary Olympiads, excluding Health and Mathematics at primary, secondary, and undergraduate levels. Forty-six eligible scholarly sources met the inclusion criteria. The literature shows growing scholarly interest, with educational and contextual factors emerging as critical influences on STEM career choices. Scholarly output has increased since 2019, with Europe and North America making the largest contributions and multidisciplinary formats predominating. Studies chiefly report gains in cognitive (problem-solving, critical thinking) and interpersonal skills (teamwork, scientific communication), while technical skills are rarely assessed. Across major motivation and career theories, hands-on practice, mentorship, and challenge drive STEM choice and persistence. Despite these promising insights, the evidence base remains limited and methodologically heterogeneous, underscoring the need for more rigorous, longitudinal studies to substantiate long-term effects on STEM education and professional pathways. The revised synthesis, therefore, interprets Olympiad participation as a heterogeneous, format-dependent educational phenomenon rather than as a single uniform intervention. It distinguishes elite-selective disciplinary Olympiads from broader, team-based, engineering-oriented, and outreach-oriented STEM competitions, and treats the observed relationships as suggestive rather than strictly causal because many studies involve self-selected, already high-performing students. Overall, well-designed Olympiad programs can advance SDG 4 and SDG 5, support innovation ecosystems consistent with SDG 9, and foster more inclusive STEM pipelines in line with SDG 10.