Opening ceremony of Armenian ICPC quarterfinals held at YSU

The ICPC is a globally recognized programming contest that brings together students from universities around the world, with the aim of promoting the creative approaches of young programmers and enhancing teamwork. 

The opening ceremony was attended by Mikayel Hovhannisyan, Vice-Rector for Development and Innovation, and Rafayel Barkhudaryan, Vice-Rector for Scientific Affairs at YSU.

Rafayel Barkhudaryan wished success to all participants and noted, "Yerevan State University is consistently committed to its mission of promoting education, innovation, and the development of student potential. This olympiad serves as an excellent platform for talented students from around the world to discover their abilities, propose innovative solutions, and make their voices heard in programming. It offers an opportunity not only to demonstrate knowledge but also to develop skills in collaboration, quick thinking, and unconventional approaches to complex problems."

YSU Professor Vahram Dumanyan, Advisor to the president of Armenia and Armenian Regional Contents Director of the ICPC, said, "The ICPC has become a key event in programming, algorithmic problem-solving, and team competitions. Since 2001, YSU has participated in this competition with great dedication, setting an example for other universities in Armenia. Over these years, YSU teams managed to reach the finals four times, which is a significant achievement. I wish all university students the opportunity to reach the final phase, as it is an indicator of the success of the Armenian educational system."

More than 30 teams from various universities in Armenia have registered to participate, with YSU representing 8 teams. The coach of YSU's teams, Armen Andreasyan, an assistant at the Chair of Programming and Information Technologies, emphasized the importance of developing the right strategy for quickly solving problems. He stated, "Each team works within its own capabilities, and success depends on how well the team performs. The tasks presented are diverse, covering not only programming but also knowledge of mathematics, geometry, and sometimes physics. Our teams consistently perform well in the competition, and last year, YSU teams achieved the best results in the semifinals."

Armen Andreasyan also added that Yerevan State University is the organizer of this olympiad in Armenia.

Following the opening ceremony, the trial phase of the competition began, during which participants received essential information about the event, familiarized themselves with their locations, computers, and the network provided. 

The main phase of the competition will take place tomorrow, November 16, with over 30 teams from different universities in Armenia competing for a place in the semifinals.

Each team consists of three students and one coach. Armenia is included in the Northern Eurasia Finals. The main phase lasts for 5 hours, during which teams use a single computer to solve assigned tasks. Solutions will be submitted to an automated testing system. In case of a tie, the time taken to solve the tasks and the number of failed attempts will be considered. 

The winning teams will proceed to the semifinals, which will be held from December 13 to 15 in various cities, including Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Astana, and Tbilisi.

During the ICPC World Finals 2024, held in Astana (Kazakhstan) from September 15 to 20, Armenian students managed to reach the finals, ranking among the top 142 teams.

The ICPC features over 50,000 students from around 3,000 universities each year. Since its participation in 2001, YSU teams have reached the finals four times, continuously improving their results.

It is worth noting that the Armenian government has submitted a bid to host the world finals of the ICPC in Armenia. YSU Rector Hovhannes Hovhannisyan met with ICPC Foundation President Bill Poucher and his delegation, assuring them that YSU is ready to invest the necessary resources to host this prominent event at the highest level.