With five hours, one computer and 13 computer science problems to solve, a team of three university computer science graduate students worked to finish as many problems as possible before the deadline.
This was part of an internationally recognized computer programming contest, sponsored by IBM, in Marrakech, Morocco, in which the university team competed in May against 127 other teams.
“These students are dauntless problem solvers,” Bill Poucher, International Collegiate Programming Contest executive director and Baylor University computer science professor said in a statement. “We aim for them to inspire each other to raise the bar for global technological innovation as they move into their careers.”
Xi Yi, Soheil Ehsani and Sina Dehghani made up the university team and completed five of the problems, placing 73rd out of 128 in the 39th Annual Association for Computing Machinery International Collegiate Programming Contest world finals.
“It is a very friendly competition among the best programmers around the world, plus lots of entertaining and fun events,” Dehghani wrote in an email. “Also it was very nice to see people from all around the world and share the experiences and ideas.”
University computer science professor and the team’s coach Mohammad Hajiaghayi said the team could’ve done better, but the ranking was reasonable.
The team finished behind Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley and Harvard University, Hajiaghayi said.
But the ICPC scoreboard also showed that this university’s team placed ahead of Princeton University, University of Chicago, Cornell University, Rice University and others, finishing 13th out of the 23 U.S. teams competing in the world finals.
“Preparation for the ICPC is relentless, but its impact on productivity and opportunity lasts a lifetime,” Poucher said in a statement.
Teams competed in regional contests to qualify for the world finals and this university’s team placed second in the 2014 Mid-Atlantic USA Regional Contest.
Those who qualified arrived in Marrakech on May 16 and were given the opportunity to explore, sightsee and attend various symposiums for the next few days. On May 20 at 11 a.m., “the most intellectually challenging computer programming competition in the world,” began, said Callie Smith, one of the event’s coordinators.
This year’s champions, the team from St. Petersburg National Research University of IT, Mechanics and Optics, completed every problem within the five-hour time limit and was the only group to do so.
“Only the best of the of the best earn the opportunity to vie for the coveted world championship,” Jeff Donahoo, ICPC deputy executive director and Baylor University computer science professor, said in a statement.
The contest began in 1970 and was limited to Texas universities, Poucher said in a statement. This time, more than 38,000 students worldwide competed in regional competitions throughout the year in hopes of advancing to this year’s world finals in Morocco.
Those students hailed from 2,534 universities in 101 countries on six continents, making this contest “a global phenomenon,” Poucher said in a statement.
The competitors were encouraged to utilize time outside of the competition as “a unique cultural experience,” Donahoo said in a statement.
“The students are exposed to their peers, a collection of diverse and innovative problem solvers from every corner of the world,” Donahoo said in a statement. “They are encouraged to take advantage of their time abroad, as historical and cultural excursions in Morocco will add flavor to the experience of a lifetime.”
