Student computer programmers to apply problem-solving skills in international competition

Fort Worth, TX

10/14/2008

TCU computer programming students are sharpening their skills in preparation for an internationally prestigious computer programming competition, the 33rd Annual Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) Regional Competition, which will be held Oct. 17 and 18 at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma.

The rapid changes in today’s IT industry, push for integrated approaches to business and technology at the university level to prepare for the future; and through this collaboration between businesses and academia, the contest exposes the brightest university IT students to open source technologies being adopted by innovative businesses and organizations the world over.

The ICPC Regional Competition will include schools such as University of Texas at Dallas and Oklahoma University as well as students from TCU in a “battle of the brains” for a chance to compete in the World Finals.

The contest presents teams of three people with real-world problems for which teams are asked to develop a solution within five hours. Students must rank the difficulty of the problems and create a software program that will solve the problems under the examination of the judges.

The amount of work done within the five-hour time slot is equivalent to a semester’s worth of work, but the contest furthers creativity, teamwork and innovation in a field where it is demanded.

Over 6,099 teams representing 1,821 universities in 83 countries are expected in this year’s regional competition. One hundred regional finalists will compete for a chance to become a finalist in the world finals competition in Sweden in April.

Winners in the past include teams from universities such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the U.S.A., St. Petersburg Institute of Fine Mechanics and Optics in Russia and Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China.

For more information about the competing TCU team contact the department of computer science at (817) 257-7166.