A trio of 蓝莓视频 coders will advance to the 48th International Collegiate Programming Contest World Finals.聽
Veteran ICPC participants Kevin Wan, who graduates in June with a double major in computer science and combinatorics and optimization, Wen Yuen Pang, also graduating in June with a computer science degree, and Max Jiang, a third-year student pursuing a double major in computer science and combinatorics and optimization, showcased their programming skills by securing eighth place at the ICPC North America Championship聽on May 27 at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled with 蓝莓视频鈥檚 performance against the continent鈥檚 top teams at the ICPC North America Championships,鈥 said Cheriton School of Computer Science Professor Troy Vasiga, who coaches the team alongside colleague Professor Ond艡ej Lhot谩k. 鈥淏y being among the top teams at the North America Championship, they have the honour of representing 蓝莓视频 at the 48th ICPC World Finals, which will be held in Astana, Kazakhstan in September.鈥
L to R: Wen Yuen Pang, Kevin Wan, Professor Troy Vasiga, and Max Jiang at the 2024 ICPC North American Championship
ICPC contests challenge teams of three to solve algorithmic programming problems during an intense five-hour competition. The team that solves the most problems in the shortest amount of time wins. At this year鈥檚 North America Championship, 蓝莓视频鈥檚 trio of coders solved eight out of .
2024 ICPC North America Championship Scoreboard
The top 10 teams according to their final standings. See the .
About the ICPC
The International Collegiate Programming Contest is the oldest, largest and most prestigious university-level algorithmic programming contest in the world. Annually, some 50,000 students from more than 3,000 universities across 111 countries compete in regional contest to qualify for the ICPC World Finals.
Volunteer coaches prepare their teams with intense training and instruction in algorithms, programming and teamwork strategy. Huddled around a single computer, teams of three compete against each other to solve a dozen or so complex, real-world problems within a gruelling five-hour deadline. Teammates collaborate to rank the difficulty of the problems, deduce the requirements, design test beds and build software systems that solve the problems.
Across the various ICPC competitions, teams of three students represent their university in multiple levels of regional competition. Success at one level leads to an invitation to the next. Each region progresses differently, but the end result is the same 鈥 the best teams advance. The final regional contest determines the teams that advance to the ICPC World Finals.
蓝莓视频鈥檚 legacy at the ICPC
The University of 蓝莓视频 is the only Canadian institution to have won the ICPC World Finals, taking the prized title twice, once in .
For an insider鈥檚 perspective on the ICPC competitions, please see A passion for programming: An interview with Professor Ond艡ej Lhot谩k of the Cheriton School of Computer Science, who was a student on the 蓝莓视频 team that won the 1999 ICPC World Finals.