The best and brightest information technology students from the region will gather on Abilene Christian University's campus for the 34th annual IBM-sponsored Association for Computing Machinery International Collegiate Programming Contest. ACU's School of Information Technology and Computing and six other regional universities will host students in a "Battle of the Brains," Nov. 6-7.
The Intercollegiate Programming Contest is the largest and most prestigious computing competition in the world, with tens of thousands of students from universities in nearly 90 countries on six continents participating. Students compete for awards, scholarships, prizes and bragging rights.
This is ACU's fourth time to host the contest. This year, ACU will enter three teams, one of which is exclusively for freshmen.
"The ACM Regional ICPC offers our computer science students a chance to interact with and compete against students from other universities. The competition creates a unique learning opportunity unlike typical assignments and projects," said Dr. Dwayne Towell, assistant professor of computer science. "Students regularly tell us the experience of competing in this forum stretches them and offers an exciting way to be challenged and grow."
Contest teams consist of three university teams, who are challenged to use their programming skills and rely on their mental endurance to solve complex, real-world problems within a five-hour deadline. One hundred successful teams will advance to the World Finals in Harbin, China.
The ACM-ICPC affords students the opportunity to showcase their talents and gain exposure among top recruiters," said Dr. Bill Poucher, ICPC executive director. "The contest is also a forum for advancing technology in an effort to better accommodate the growing needs of the future, as expressed in IBM's Smarter Planet initiative. At the same time, the competition is a chance for students of similar interests to exchange ideas and peer educate."
For more information about the contest, visit the ACM Web site. To learn more about ACU's School of Information Technology, the SITC Web site.
If you are a member of the media who would like more information about this release, please contact ACU's Public Relations Office or call (325) 674-2696.
