The 15th ISCB Student Wikipedia Competition: past, present and future perspectives

Abstract The International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) Student Wikipedia Competition, now in its 15th edition, has become a cornerstone initiative for promoting open educational resources in computational biology. Launched in 2012, the competition has engaged hundreds of students and postdoctoral researchers worldwide in editing and improving Wikipedia articles, guided by the society’s bioinformatics core competencies. This paper traces the competition’s evolution from its early focus on English-only entries to the inclusion of non-English tracks and collaborative group contributions. It also examines the present format of the competition, effort related to integration of Wikipedia editing into educational curricula, and the persistent challenge of sustaining long-term volunteer engagement. Looking ahead, the article explores the potential influence of artificial intelligence and large language models on scientific content creation, alongside the importance of diversity and regional outreach in addressing global knowledge gaps. Taken together, these perspectives underscore the competition’s educational value, its contribution to open science, and its enduring role in shaping the next generation of computational biologists.