Collegiate Computer Geniuses Gather in Banff, Canada for World Finals Contest of IBM-Sponsored 'Battle of the Brains'
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BANFF, AB, Mar 31 (MARKET WIRE) --
The world's most talented and creative information technology (IT) students
will
gather April 6-9, 2008 in Alberta, Canada for the 32nd annual World Finals
of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) International Collegiate
ProgrammingContest (ICPC), sponsored by IBM (NYSE: IBM). The competition will be
hosted
by the University of Alberta, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
One hundred three-person teams from 33 countries have qualified for what
isaffectionately known as the "Battle of the Brains." The ACM-ICPC World Finals
brings these teams together to solve eight to ten highly complex computer
programming problems, modeled after real-world business challenges. The
problems are designed to test students' knowledge, endurance and business
acumen -- key skills that are needed by global employers in the new IT
workforce.
"This contest brings together future innovators from around the world, who
may one day tackle some of the world's biggest problems by means of
collaboration," said Doug Heintzman, Director of Strategy, Lotus Software, IBM
Software Group, and ICPC Sponsorship Executive. "Using technologies that extend
the
Internet and interactive social networking capabilities ever further, this
year's
contestants will be exposed to advanced technology that will one day touch
millions of people worldwide."
Limited to only five hours, the teams need to demonstrate skills in a
contest equal to a semester's worth of curriculum. The team that solves
themost problems correctly in the least time will emerge as champions,
earningscholarships, bragging rights and prizes from IBM. Many of these bright
contestants will catch the eye of leading firms like IBM who are always looking
for creative talent.
IBM's sponsorship of the Battle of the Brains is just one of the company's
many
university-facing programs focusing on open standards skills. The IBM Academic
Initiative is another, offering colleges and universities a wide range of
technology benefits including free access to IBM software, discounted hardware,
coursematerials, training and curriculum development to better educate millions
of
students for a more competitive IT workforce.
"Since joining forces with IBM, we've seen this contest develop into a
truly global competition, attracting a deep and diverse pool of students," said
Dr.
William Poucher, Professor of Computer Science at Baylor University and
Executive Director of the ACM-ICPC. "The competition allows students to hone
their analytical and problem-solving skills and encourages them to apply their
programming talents to the world of business. This unique experience gives
these students a competitive edge when they eventually join the workforce."
The United States has 20 teams participating this year, the largest
representation from any country. China, the Russian Federation and Canada are
also represented by many teams from different schools. Warsaw University, the
2007 World Finals champions, will return in 2008. Also noteworthy, hosting
school University of Alberta has been to the World Finals eight of the last 10
years. To view the full list of teams, visit the contest website at
http://icpc.baylor.edu/icpc/finals.
More than 6,700 teams representing 1,821 universities from 83 countries
competed in
the fall Regionals competition this year, compared to 840 teams in 1997
when IBM first sponsored.
For more information about the contest or to listen to IBM's podcast
seriesfor students and coaches, visit www.ibm.com/university/acmcontest/. RSS
feeds
are also available.
About IBM
For more information on IBM software, please visit
http://www.software.ibm.com.
About ACM
For more information on the Association for Computing Machinery, please
visit
http://www.acm.org.
EDITOR'S NOTE: To interview IBM representatives or participants in the
contest, please contact Dana Procaccino at (215) 790-4358. For high resolution
images, please visit http://icpc.baylor.edu/dmt/. For the latest schedule of
World Finals events in April, visit
http://icpc.baylor.edu/icpc/finals/Schedule.htm.
IBM Contact:
Pasha Ray
(914) 766-3389
bipasha@us.ibm.com
Tierney Communications
Dana Procaccino
Office: (215) 790-4358
Cell: (215) 221-4396
dprocaccino@tierneyagency.com
Copyright 2008, Market Wire, All rights reserved.
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