Premio Codezen
A €3,000 university scholarship Codezen funds every year for final-year students in Colleferro, Italy, where our founder went to school.
- Scholarship
- €3,000
- Editions
- 2
- Students tested
- 195
- Schools
- 2
Merit should not stop at the cost of university
The prize was started by Christian Vari, Codezen's founder and a former student of ITIS Cannizzaro. Growing up in the area, he saw how hard it can be for talented students to reach a good university and a global career.
Premio Codezen rewards the best result in an open test, helps the winner with the real costs of university, and brings a different side of technology, from cryptography to security research, into the classroom. It is funded entirely by Codezen.
Open to final-year students of ITIS S. Cannizzaro and Liceo G. Marconi, Colleferro, who are going on to university.
Winners
-
2026 edition
Federico Roia
Liceo G. Marconi
- Students
- 112
- Ceremony
- Test
- 10 multiple-choice questions, 50 minutes
-
2025 edition
Giorgia Cardinali
ITIS S. Cannizzaro
- Students
- 83
- Ceremony
- Test
- 10 multiple-choice questions, 50 minutes
From the classroom to the ceremony
- 01
Call and information session
Between January and April the two schools publish the call, and Christian Vari presents the prize to final-year classes on school premises. Students apply through an online form.
- 02
The test
In late spring, a 50-minute computer-based test on school premises, supervised by teachers and Codezen: ten multiple-choice questions on logic, mathematics and introductory cryptography. A correct answer scores +1, a wrong one −0.5, a blank 0.
- 03
Award ceremony
The highest score wins; a tie goes to the candidate with the lower ISEE (household income indicator). The prize is presented in June at the Aula di Alta Formazione of Colleferro's public library.
- 04
University support
€3,000 towards university tuition and enrolment fees, reimbursed within 30 days of the receipts. If the winner declines, the prize goes to the runner-up.
The full call for applications, FAQ and every past test are public on GitHub, in English and Italian. Answers are never published.
Premio Codezen 2027
A 2027 edition is planned for the 2026/27 school year. The schools announce it to final-year students.
Teachers and families can write to info@codezen.tech.
Press and school announcements
2026
- Nell’Aula di Alta Formazione consegnato a Federico Roia il Premio Codezen
- Comunicazione N° 419 – Premio Codezen (prova del 3 giugno 2026)
- 377 – Premio Codezen: svolgimento della prova, 3 giugno 2026
- Comunicazione N° 338 – Premio Codezen, incontro informativo
- 310 – Premio Codezen 2026: incontro informativo
- Comunicazione N° 283 – Premio Codezen 2026
2025
Photos: Cronache Cittadine, used with permission. All links are in Italian.