CSE to host IBM Sponsored Computer Contest

Texas A&M University will host the 34th Annual IBM-sponsored Association for Computing Machinery International Collegiate Programming (ICP) contest Nov. 6 and 7.

The competition, which is considered the world’s most prestigious computer programming competition, will pit teams from eight universities against each other as they vie for the regional championship and a chance to advance to the World finals that will be held in February 2010 in Harbin, China.

The best and the brightest information technology students from around the globe will compete for awards, scholarships, prizes and bragging rights to the “world’s smartest trophy.”

During the competition, teams of three students will be challenged to use their programming skills and rely on their mental endurance to solve complex, real-world problems under a grueling deadline.

Tackling these problems is equivalent to completing a semester’s worth of computer programming in one afternoon. The team that solves the most problems correctly in the least amount of time will win a coveted spot in the world finals.

In addition to Texas A&M, other schools competing in the regional include: Baylor University; Rice University; Southwestern University; Texas State University; The University of Texas at Austin; Trinity University; and the University of Houston.

Last year, Texas A&M had three teams compete in the competition, with one of the teams finishing third overall in the south regional, which included 68 teams competing at four sites.

The ICP was started at Texas A&M in 1970 and has grown to include teams in approximately 90 countries on six continents.

Written by Tim Schnettler, tschnettler@tamu.edu