Teenagers show Amazing Programming Skills at the AIPO
DUBLIN, February 22, 2014 - The School of Computing, DCU held the 20th anniversary All-Ireland Programming Olympiad (AIPO) Saturday. The national computer programming competition for second-level students - sponsored by the School of Computing, DCU and Fidelity Investments - pitches the best and some of the youngest programmers from around the country against each other to compete for a place on the team that will represent Ireland at the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI).
“We are delighted to be sponsoring this event for the third year,” said Tadhg O’Shea, vice president of software engineering for Fidelity Investments. “The talent here today is outstanding. It is amazing to see such a high level of skill from these students, at such a young stage in their lives. One of our finalists is only nine years of age. Fidelity is proud to lend our technology expertise and work alongside the School of Computing, DCU to help teach these students and empower them for success at the International Finals. Congratulations to all the students who participated in the National Final today.”
With the buoyant IT industry in Ireland, second-level students are becoming increasingly more interested in computer programming. The competition is targeted to those students and helps equip them with the skills they need, while also furthering the awareness of computer programming as an exciting and fulfilling career. The preliminary round of the competition was held online, with the final five hour round held in the School of Computing, DCU. The programing challenges are graded as students advance in the completion. Winners: 1st place winner of the senior section, Áron Hoffman, received a Lenovo IdeaPad multimedia laptop. 1st place winner of the junior section John Ryan, received a Asus Netbook Gary Conway from the School of Computing, who co-ordinates the AIPO explained: “Like last year, in June, the top eight students from the senior section of the AIPO National Finals will be invited to participate in a three day problem-solving training camp here at DCU. They will be tutored by DCU School of Computing academics, previous IOI competitors and Fidelity Investments architects. This will expose them to the International standard and give them the best chance of medalling at the IOI Finals. The four best young programmers with the right ‘x-factor’ qualities from the three days of training will be selected to represent Ireland at the IOI competition in Taiwan in July.” These students represent the very best talent that the School of Computing are striving to attract when they designed their new portfolio entry Undergraduate degree, Computational Problem Solving and Software Development (CPSSD). Three past graduates of the AIPO competition are now students on this new degree course.
Next Stop Taiwan for the Finals!
For further information contact:
Fidelity Investments
John Eidson
617-563-5800
DCU School of Computing
Christine Stears