News
GVSU Hosted International Computing Event
November 10, 2024
On November 9th and 10th, Grand Valley hosted the East Central Regional as a part of the International Collegiate Programming Contest, or ICPC. The ICPC is one of the prestegious collegiate programming contests, with regional competitions being held all over the world. According to the ICPC website, it is also one of the oldest programming competitions, with the first event being held in 1970. This year, GVSU hosted the East Central Regional competition, and two Grand Valley teams competed.
Each team is comprised of up to three students and the competition is straightforward. Teams solve as many problems as they can in an exhausting five hours. This rigorous structure requires students to be innovative and creative to solve complex, real-world problems in a quick fashion. The event took place in Manitou Hall, with an impressive team of GVSU College of Computing staff volunteering to assist with the competition. Overall, the two Grand Valley teams competed against almost 200 different teams from across the country.
GVSU students Darren Fife and Ethan Woudwyk represented GVSU Black while students Jack Foreback and Jagger Denhof represented GVSU Blue. Both teams solved three problems, something that Professor Ira Woodring said is impressive, as GVSU teams generally solve one or two problems due to their complexity. Some problems can take up to 45 minutes and time can be added for incorrect submissions, so GVSU had to be precise when solving each question. Michigan State ended up taking first, but the two GVSU teams proved their skills and experience while competing at the highest level of programming.
Article written by Maxwell Ritchie