The competition is aimed at talented foreign students who would like to enroll in master's and postgraduate programs in Russia for free.

The winners of the Open Doors are granted a free early admission at any Russian university, without entrance examinations and with tuition fees covered by the Russian Federation.

The Olympiad is held in two rounds for the Master's track and in three rounds for the doctoral track (analogous to PhD). The first round is a competition of portfolios, and the second round is a problem-solving challenge. The third round of the Olympiad involves the selection of a prospective research supervisor for the chosen doctoral program (analogous to PhD) and an interview with him/her.

Winners of the Olympiad can choose to enroll in the Master's degree "Advances and Applications in Plasma Physics" at Polytechnic University (more information can be found here), which specializes in plasma physics, modelling, and diagnostics for fusion devices.