Regional programming contest sharpens student talent

Windsor’s best undergraduate programmers butted heads Saturday in the regional competition of the Association for Computing Machinery International Collegiate Programming Contest held in the Erie Hall and Lambton Tower computer science labs.

The IBM-sponsored regional programming contest was organized for undergraduate students in the East Central North America Region to sharpen and demonstrate their problem-solving, programming and teamwork skills.

Saturday’s competition had a total of 24 teams from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Ontario, and Indiana battle it out in order to advance to the world finals. Each team of three students and a coach was expected to solve nine problems in five hours using the C, C++ or Java language.

The contest marks Windsor’s third year hosting this regional event and providing students in Ontario with a unique and exceptional experience, says Ziad Kobti, director of the School of Computer Science.

“This is a critical time for us in IT—the demand for skilled computer programmers is increasing and there is a pressing need for highly competitive candidates. This type of competition brings out the best of the best to compete from all over the world,” Dr. Kobti says.

Over 130 teams from 63 colleges and universities throughout western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, eastern Ontario, and Indiana participated at the other contest sites in Ohio and Michigan.

The overall winners and the only team that solved all nine problems represented Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The top-performing UWindsor contestants were:

  • Team Windsor Black, who solved three problems, placed ninth locally and 22nd overall
  • Team Windsor Brown, who solved two problems, placed 12th locally and 42nd overall
  • Team Windsor Gold, a group of freshmen who attempted two questions and benefited from the experience.

The School of Computer Science will host a similar contest for high school students on December 7 and will hold preparatory workshops on November 16 and . For more information, visit the School of Computer Science Web site.

— by Chantelle Myers

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