Each year Digi-Key (a major catalogue/on-line vendor of electronic components several hours north of here) hosts a very nice programming and problem solving competition for several regional schools. They obviously see it as a valuable computing and PR exercise as they really lay out the red carpet for us each year, including paying for the hotel stay, tons of food, and nifty prizes. A week ago Friday (21 Oct 2005) was our fourth time to participate, and the for the third year running we had a team place in the top three (out of 17 teams). In fact, of the six teams that have competed in the last three years, no team has done worse than fifth and four of the six have place second or third. (The first year we competed was odd because the students had to use a language and programming environment they were completely unfamiliar with.) The action shot below shows the team that placed third: Declarative Non-statement, featuring (l to r) Matt, Scott, Tyler and Jake.
This year the winning team (from U of M Duluth) blew everyone away with 367 points. The range from second to fourth, though, was only 27.5 points (279.5, 264.5, and 252), and then another big drop to fifth with 195 points. Only 12.5 points separated our two teams, so it was definitely a tight finish.
From a teaching standpoint it’s a nice contest because they mix a lot of different skills and activities (short and long programming problems, word/math problems, engineering puzzles, etc.) so it’s clearly about problem solving instead of “just hacking”. And from a departmental standpoint it’s a cool event because we get money if the teams do well. Every member of the third place team, for example, gets a $100 gift certificate at Best Buy, and the discipline gets a check for $600 – w00t! Last year, when our teams placed 2nd and 3rd, we received $2400 on the backs of our students’ success :-).
Congratulations to both our teams on another fine year! Now we’re in the chaos of prepping for the ACM regional competition. No money in this one, but much tougher competition so more prestige. The top team or two in the region (probably out of over 150 teams) will get to go to the International Finals (in San Antonio this year) in the Spring, which is a pretty sweet deal. UMM had a team make the finals in 1998, and have had numerous teams in the top 20 over the years, so on any given day…
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