KOCHI: The Amrita University will organise a marathon programming competition spanning eight months, with the aim of ‘stimulating the intelligent minds’ of youngsters.
The contest titled ‘Lord of the Code’ is open to school students of any age, from across the country.
The winners will be sponsored by the University to participate in its prestigious ‘Battle of Whiz’ programming camp to be held in December 2016.
The online contest, which will be hosted on www.codechef.com, will be held in the last four days of every month. All the new participants will be given T-shirts, while the monthly winners will be awarded prizes in the name of Harsha Suryanarayan, the legendary coder and algorithmist who passed away in June 2014 at the young age of 32. He was a finalist in ‘ACM ICPC,’ a prestigious programming contest being hosted by Amrita University, regionally, since 2005.
Anand Shenoi, regional contest director of ACM ICPC Asia at Amrita University, said, “Events like the ‘Lord of the Code’ help school students of all ages sharpen programming skills and showcase their talent in the international arena. It is our dream and goal to take India to the highest level of competitive programming. Molding of budding programmers has to start early from the school days. The aim of the marathon contest is to maintain the momentum of interest among beginners and recognise youngsters who excel in both programming and competitive programming.”
The Lord of the Code contest will culminate with the winners attending the Amrita University-hosted programming camp called ‘Battle of Whiz’ in December 2016. Since the Battle of the Whiz camp will coincide with the the ACMI CPC Regional Contest, also being held at the Amrita University, the participants will get an opportunity to interact with some of the country’s top programming geniuses. “The problem sets are being prepared by the best programmers in India.
By solving them using computer programme, the mental sharpness and problem-solving skills of students will improve. Moreover, since the contest involves real-world problems, the creative talents of participants could be channeled for the benefit of society,” added Anand.