News
Imprint, Friday, January 30, 2009
5
UW to host world’s brightest young computer scientists in 2010
ryan webb
Ryan Webb assistant news editor
M
ere months after the world’s best winter athletes will converge in and around Vancouver, BC for the XXI Olympic Winter Games, the University of Waterloo plays host to a very different type of Olympiad. UW’s Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing officially announced this past Friday that it will be hosting the 22nd United Nations-sponsored International Olympiad of Informatics in August 2010. The Davis Centre’s Great Hall was filled with members of the university community, local business leaders, and invited guests, as
director of CEMC and director of IOI 2010 Troy Vasiga joined Johnston. Vasiga led UW’s bid to host Canada’s first IOI and convinced the competition’s selection committee that UW would be more than able to “provide enough of the basics” required to host the event. Vasiga is also the director of the Canadian Computing Competition, the national UW-hosted programming competition that selects Canada’s four competitors for the IOI each year. Member of Parliament for the riding of Kitchener-Conestoga and Deputy Government Whip Harold Albrecht praised what will be a gathering of talented and diverse young people as a “fantastic opportunity”
Students will gather for 10 hours of competitive hacking on a network of computers specially constructed for the occasion in the Physical Activities Complex UW President David Johnston led the applause that preceded Friday’s announcement. Dean of mathematics Thomas Coleman and assistant
to promote Canada and the Waterloo region. UW’s president and Coleman were celebratory at the launch event and both shared optimism that IOI
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2010 would help to solidify UW’s reputation as one of the world’s top institutions in the field of computer science. Representatives of the university also expressed hopes that the weeklong event could be used to entice some of the competitors to pursue their post-secondary studies at UW. Johnston felt the event is an “attractive recruitment channel,” while Coleman indicated that the faculty of mathematics hoped to impress the competitors and make “every effort to show them a good time.” David Yach, CTO of Research In Motion, was also on hand to announce that RIM would be the exclusive title sponsor of the 2010 event. According to Yach, RIM is eager to associate its brand with an event that would attract “bright minds” to the community and to its own doorstep. Meanwhile, the faculty of mathematics continues to solicit donations from other potential sponsors by highlighting the competition as a “unique and valuable branding and recruitment opportunity.” Dean Coleman said he expected that corporate sponsors would eventually
cover all of the costs associated with hosting the event. Albrecht indicated he was making efforts to secure funding from channels within the federal government but could offer no firm commitments. The annual IOI is touted as the “world’s premier high school computer programming competition,” and is one of only eight “academic Olympiads” sanctioned by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The organization’s preamble states that its goals are to encourage high school level education in the field of computer science around the world, and to “foster friendly international relationships among computer scientists.” The event is run like typical athletic Olympiads; each country chooses its four IOI finalists through national competitions. Organizers estimate that 250,000 students will compete to represent around 100 nation-states at IOI 2010. The event runs for a full week from August 14 to 21, 2010, with competition occurring on two of those days. Early plans include
250,000
hopefuls...
...400 finalists
hosting the festivities from the Davis Centre, while the students will gather for 10 hours of competitive hacking on a network of computers specially constructed for the occasion in the Physical Activities Complex. Organizers plan to keep participants busy during the rest of the week with scheduled training times and colloquiums hosted by the Faculty of Math and the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science. The schedule will not be all business, though; organizers have slotted time for competitors to make excursions to cultural and tourist attractions in the region, including Niagara Falls, Elora Gorge, the Perimeter Institute, CIGI, and the Stratford Festival. rwebb@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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