The 47th International Collegiate Programming Contest World Finals (ICPC WF) occurred in Luxor, Egypt, from the 14th to the 19th of April 2024. Representing HUST, the HUST ACM/ICPC training team students showcased their exceptional skills and achieved remarkable results. They secured 22nd place globally and were honored with the Fastest Problem Solving Award for the J problem.
The HUST team, composed of Chen Gong (Class of 2021) and Xin Zheng (Class of 2019) from the School of Computer Science and Technology, along with Zhongyao Yu (Class of 2020) from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, participated in the competition under the guidance of Professor Kun He from the School of Computer Science and Technology. After five hours of intense competition, the HUST team solved a total of 6 problems, achieving an impressive 22nd place in the world. They also won the Fastest Problem Solving Award for the J problem.
In this competition, participants from 111 countries and more than 3,400 universities and colleges competed through multiple rounds of selection and fierce competition. In the end, a total of 130 teams from different universities and colleges qualified for the World Finals. HUST team successfully advanced to the World Final with an outstanding 5th place in the 2023 ICPC Hangzhou Regional Contest (under the team name "Yaya Yuyu Chongchong"). The team was selected as a finalist together with 15 teams from Tsinghua University, Peking University, Nanjing University, Zhejiang University, and other sister colleges and universities from the East Asia Region. It is the second time the HUST team has been shortlisted for the Global Finals after the 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2018 competitions.
The HUST ACM/ICPC training team, an exemplary student innovation group of Qiming College, aims to foster members' modeling prowess and collaborative spirit through their involvement in diverse programming contests. Leveraging the resources provided by the School of Computer Science and Technology, the team, under the guidance of Professor Kun He, delved into a comprehensive study of pertinent algorithms and data structures. They collaborated on real-world problem modeling, algorithm design, and code implementation to devise effective solutions. Over the past two decades, the team has proudly represented Huazhong University of Science and Technology in various programming competitions, including CCPC and ICPC, while organizing activities encompassing player selection, training, and overall development. Remarkably, the team's efforts in the past two years have yielded exceptional outcomes, securing an impressive total of 7 gold medals and 6 silver medals in national algorithm competitions. Furthermore, they have achieved four gold medals and one silver medal in esteemed provincial contests such as the CCPC Hubei Provincial Contest. In addition to these accomplishments, the training team actively organizes members to partake in algorithm competitions, including different invitationals of the provincial level, the Blue Bridge Cup, and the Ladder Tournament, consistently attaining commendable results and remarkable achievements.
The pinnacle event in the programming realm, the International Collegiate Programming Contest World Finals, holds the esteemed title of the "Olympics of Programming." This grand culmination brings together elite teams from six continents to solve over ten immensely demanding algorithmic problems, adhering to the competition format where three team members share a single computer. To excel in this contest, participants must possess a broad range of knowledge, a firm grasp of mathematics, exemplary skills in algorithm design, proficiency in programming techniques, and exhibit exceptional psychological qualities, self-learning abilities, and a collaborative spirit. The World Finals is a comprehensive test of their capabilities across these multifaceted dimensions.
