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(L-R) Áron Hoffman (17), Luttrellstown Community College, Dublin; Daniel Mulcahy (17), Gonzaga College, Dublin; Richard Tynan (19), Cistercian College, Roscrea; and Conor Griffin (18), Ardscoil Rís, Limerick. The winners of the All Ireland Programming Olympiad at DCU who will now go on to represent Ireland at the 2014 International Olympiad in Informatics, Taiwan in July

International Informatics Olympiad Team Announced

After several rigorous selection rounds of the All Ireland Programming Olympiad (AIPO), four young secondary students have been selected to represent Ireland as it competes against other top young programmers from around the world during the 2014 International Olympiad in Informatics.

Team Ireland will travel to Taipei in Taiwan on Friday 11th July and compete against over 300 students from 86 other countries.  The team consists of

  • Richard Tynan (19yrs), Cistercian College, Roscrea
  • Áron Hoffman (17yrs), Luttrellstown Community College, Dublin
  • Conor Griffin (18yrs), Ardscoil Ris, Limerick
  • Daniel Mulcahy (17rs), Gonzaga College, Dublin.

These talented individuals were selected after an intensive programming bootcamp hosted by DCU, where they trained and practised the art of competitive programming under conditions similar to those they will face in Taipei.

Gary Conway from DCU School of Computing who co-ordinates the AIPO explained,

“These young students are self-educated in a variety of programming languages at a very high level. They are learning and using programming techniques which would normally be introduced to 3rd year computing students at university level. The students have shown remarkable skills, not only in informatics and programming, but also in time management and stress control.” 

Some of the students who participated in the programming bootcamp have already seen great success in what they do.  Richard Tynan and Daniel Mulcahy won 1st prize in the Technology Category awards at this year's BT Young Scientist Competition.  Áron Hoffman came first in the national All-Ireland Programming Olympiad (AIPO) final competition and Conor Griffin has secured a place on the new portfolio entry advanced programming undergraduate degree, Computational Problem Solving and Software Development (CPSSD) in DCU.

Team Ireland member, Richard Tynan said

“Competing in AIPO over the past few years has made me a faster, more accurate and more knowledgeable coder, teaching me about areas of computer science that I didn't even know existed. I was fortunate to receive an offer to study computer science in Cambridge University in the United Kingdom next year, with one of the interviewers even saying my AIPO and IOI experience was ‘one of the most impressive things’ in my application.”

Fidelity Investments and DCU School of Computing sponsor the annual event.   According to Travis Carpico, President of Fidelity Investments Ireland,

“These students have precisely the type of skills that big companies are looking for in software engineers. They are solving the types of programming problems faced in the Financial Sector as the majority of investments on worldwide stock markets are done using complex computer programs. In fact, programming competitions are now becoming an integral part of the software industry’s interview process, allowing us to identify top talent. We are delighted to be involved in this event and look forward to continuing to encourage and foster the enthusiasm for technology and computer education throughout Ireland. “

DCU, School of Computing and Fidelity Investments would like to wish all the students participating in the IOI the very best of luck.  We look forward to updating everyone on their progress later in the summer before the International event in Taiwan.

Team Ireland progress at the IOI in Taipei can be followed on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/DCU.AIPO and Twitter @DCU_AIPO