The International Collegiate Programming Contest, known as the ICPC, is an annual multi-tiered competitive programming competition among the universities of the world.[1] Directed by ICPC Executive Director and Baylor Professor William B. Poucher, the ICPC operates autonomous regional contests covering six continents culminating in a global World Finals every year. In 2018, ICPC participation included 52,709 students from 3,233 universities in 110 countries.
The ICPC operates under the auspices of the ICPC Foundation and operates under agreements with host universities and non-profits, all in accordance with the ICPC Policies and Procedures.[2] From 1977 until 2017 ICPC was held under the auspices of ACM and was referred to as ACM-ICPC.[3]
The ICPC traces its roots to a competition held at Texas A&M University in 1970 hosted by the Alpha Chapter of the Upsilon Pi Epsilon Computer Science Honor Society (UPE). This initial programming competition was titled First Annual Texas Collegiate Programming Championship and each university was represented by a team of up to five members. The computer used was a 360 model 65 which was one of the first machines with a DAT (Dynamic Address Translator aka "paging") system for accessing memory. Teams that participated included Texas A&M, Texas Tech, University of Houston, and five or six other Texas University / Colleges. There were three problems that had to be completed and the cumulative time from "start" to "successful completion" determined first-, second-, and third-place winners. The programming language used was Fortran. The programs were written on coding sheets, keypunched on Hollerith cards, and submitted for execution. The University of Houston team won the competition completing all three problems successfully with time. The second- and third-place teams did not successfully complete all three problems. The contest evolved into its present form as a multi-tier competition in 1977, with the first finals held in conjunction with the ACM Computer Science Conference.
From 1977 to 1989, the contest included mainly teams of four from universities throughout the United States and Canada. ICPC Headquarters was hosted by Baylor University from 1989 until 2022, with regional contests established within the world's university community, the ICPC has grown into a worldwide competition. To increase access to the World Finals, teams were reduced to three students within their first five academic years.
From 1997 to 2017, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) was the sponsor of ICPC. During that time contest participation has grown by more than 2000%. In 1997, 840 teams from 560 universities participated. In 2017, 46,381 students from 2,948 universities in 103 countries on six continents participated in regional competitions. Organized as a highly localized extra-curricular university mind sport and operating as a globally-coordinated unincorporated association operating under agreements with host universities and non-profits, the ICPC is open to qualified teams from every university in the world.
UPE has provided continuous support since 1970 and honored World Finalists since the first Finals in 1976. The ICPC is indebted to ACM member contributions and ACM assistance from 1976 to 2018. Baylor University served since 1985, hosting ICPC Headquarters from 1989 until 2022. The ICPC operates under the auspices of the ICPC Foundation which provides the ICPC Global Headquarters to service a globally-coordinated community whose events operate under agreements with host universities and non-profits to insure that participation in ICPC is open to qualified teams from every university in the world. See ICPC Policies and Procedures.[2]
The ICPC World Finals (The Annual World Finals of the International Collegiate Programming Contest) is the final round of competition. Over its history it has become a 4-day event held in the finest venues worldwide with 140 teams competing in the 2018 World Finals. Recent World Champion teams have been recognized by their country's head of state. In recent years, media impressions have hovered at the one billion mark.
From 2000 to 2022, only teams from Russia, China, and Poland have won the ICPC world finals.[4] Participation in North America is much smaller than in the rest of the world, which is partially attributed to the perceived low payoff of participating.[5]
ICPC contests are team competitions. Current rules stipulate that each team consist of three students. Participants must be university students, who have had less than five years of university education before the contest. Students who have previously competed in two World Finals or five regional competitions are ineligible to compete again.[6] [7]
During each contest, the teams of three are given 5 hours to solve between eight and fifteen programming problems (with eight typical for regionals and twelve for finals). They must submit solutions as programs in C, C++, Java, Ada,[8] Python[9] [10] or Kotlin[11] (although it is not guaranteed every problem is solvable in any certain language, the ICPC website states that "the judges will have solved all problems in Java and C++" for both regional and world finals competitions). Programs are then run on test data. If a program fails to give a correct answer, the team is notified and can submit another program.
The winner is the team which correctly solves the most problems. If necessary to rank teams for medals or prizes among tying teams, the placement of teams is determined by the sum of the elapsed times at each point that they submitted correct solutions plus 20 minutes for each rejected submission of a problem ultimately solved. There is no time consumed for a problem that is not solved.[12]
Compared to other programming contests (for example, International Olympiad in Informatics), the ICPC is characterized by a large number of problems (eight or more problems in just 5 hours). Another feature is that each team can use only one computer, although teams have three students. This makes the time pressure even greater. Good teamwork and ability to withstand pressure is needed to win.
The 2004 ACM-ICPC World Finals were hosted at the Obecni Dum, Prague, by Czech Technical University in Prague. 3,150 teams representing 1,411 universities from 75 countries competed in elimination rounds, with 73 of those teams proceeding to the world finals. St. Petersburg Institute of Fine Mechanics and Optics from Russia won, solving 7 of 10 problems.[13] Gold medalists were St. Petersburg Institute of Fine Mechanics and Optics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden), Belarusian State University, and Perm State University (Russia).
The 2005 world finals were held at Pudong Shangri-La Hotel in Shanghai on April 6, 2005, hosted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University. 4,109 teams representing 1,582 universities from 71 countries competed in elimination rounds, with 78 of those teams proceeding to the world finals. Shanghai Jiao Tong University won its second world title, with 8 of 10 problems solved.[14] Gold medal winners were Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Moscow State University (Russia), St. Petersburg Institute of Fine Mechanics and Optics (Russia), and University of Waterloo (Canada).
The 2006 ACM-ICPC World Finals were held in San Antonio, Texas, and hosted by Baylor University.[15] 5,606 teams representing 1,733 universities from 84 countries competed in elimination rounds, with 83 of those teams proceeding to the world finals. Saratov State University from Russia won, solving 6 of 10 problems.[16] Gold medal winners were Saratov, Jagiellonian University (Poland), Altai State Technical University (Russia), University of Twente (The Netherlands).
The 2007 ACM-ICPC World Finals were held at the Tokyo Bay Hilton, in Tokyo, Japan, March 12–16, 2007. The World Finals was hosted by the ACM Japan Chapter and the IBM Tokyo Research Lab. Some 6,099 teams competed on six continents at the regional level. Eighty-eight teams advanced to the World Finals. Warsaw University won its second world championship, solving 8 of 10 problems. Gold Medal Winners were Warsaw University, Tsinghua University (China), St. Petersburg Institute of Fine Mechanics and Optics (Russia), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (United States). Silver Medal Winners include Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China) and 3 other universities.
The 2008 ACM-ICPC World Finals were held at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, in Banff, Alberta, Canada, April 6–10, 2008.[17] The World Finals was hosted by the University of Alberta. There were 100 teams in the World finals, out of 6700 total teams competing in the earlier rounds.[18] The St. Petersburg Institute of Fine Mechanics and Optics won their second world championship. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Izhevsk State Technical University, and Lviv National University also received gold medals.
The 2009 ACM-ICPC World Finals were held in Stockholm, Sweden, April 18–22, at the campus of the hosting institution, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, as well as at the Grand Hotel, the Radisson Strand, and the Diplomat Hotel. There were 100 teams from over 200 regional sites competing for the World Championship. The St. Petersburg Institute of Fine Mechanics and Optics defended their title, winning their third world championship. Tsinghua University, St. Petersburg State University, and Saratov State University also received gold medals.[19] The 2009 World Finals pioneered live video broadcasting of the entire contest, featuring elements such as expert commentary, live feeds of teams and their computer screens and interviews with judges, coaches and dignitaries. The event was broadcast online, as well as by Swedish television channel Axess TV.
The 2010 ACM-ICPC World Finals were held in Harbin, China. The host is Harbin Engineering University. Shanghai Jiao Tong University won the world championship.[20] Moscow State University, National Taiwan University, and Taras Shevchenko Kiev National University also received gold medals.
The 2011 ACM-ICPC World Finals were held in Orlando, Florida and hosted by main sponsor IBM. The contest was initially scheduled to be held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt in February, but was moved due to the political instability associated with the Arab Spring. Zhejiang University took first place with the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Tsinghua University, and Saint Petersburg State University taking 2nd, 3rd, and 4th respectively each receiving gold medals.[21] China(2G) United States(1G) Russia(1G,2S,2B) Germany(1S) Ukraine(1S) Poland(1B) Canada(1B)
The 2012 World Finals were held in Warsaw, Poland. They were inaugurated on 15 May and hosted by University of Warsaw.[22] St. Petersburg Institute of Fine Mechanics and Optics won their fourth world championship, the most by any University at the time. University of Warsaw, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University took 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place respectively each receiving gold medals.Russia(2G,1B) China(1G,1S) Poland(1G) United States(1S) Hong Kong(1S) Belarus(1S,1B) Canada(1B) Japan(1B)
The 2013 World Finals were held in Saint Petersburg, Russia. They were inaugurated on 3 July and were hosted by NRU ITMO.
2013 top thirteen teams that received medals are:
Japan(1G) Russia(1G,1S,2B) China(1G,1B) Taiwan(1G) Poland(1S,1B) Ukraine(1S) Belarus(1S) United States(1B)
The 2014 World Finals were held in Ekaterinburg, Russia on June 21–25, hosted by Ural Federal University. The final competition was held on June 25.[25] 122 teams participated in the competition and St. Petersburg State University became the world champion.[26]
Following teams were awarded medals in ICPC 2014:[26]
Russia(2G,2B) China(1G,1S,1B) Taiwan(1G) Japan(1S) Poland(1S) Croatia(1S) Slovakia(1B)
Gold
Silver
Bronze
The 2015 World Finals were held in Marrakesh (Morocco) during May 16–21, hosted by Mohammed the Fifth University, Al Akhawayn University and Mundiapolis University. The final competition took place on May 20. 128 teams competed to be World Champion. Saint Petersburg ITMO emerged as the winner, having solved all problems (13) for the first time ever. Other medalists included teams from Russia (2G), China (1G, 1B, 1S), Japan (1G), the United States (1B, 1S), Croatia (1S), Czech Republic (1S), Korea (1B), and Poland (1B).
Gold
Silver
Bronze
The 2016 World Finals were held in Phuket (Thailand) during May 16–21. The final competition was on May 19. 128 teams competed to be World Champion. The winners were Saint Petersburg State University, solving 11 out of 13 problems. The first runners-up were Shanghai Jiao Tong University, also solving 11 problems, but 7 minutes behind the winning team.
Gold
Silver
Bronze
The 2017 World Finals were held in Rapid City, South Dakota (United States) during May 20–25, hosted by Excellence in Computer Programming. Due to visa issue, several teams were unable to present onsite, in which the affected schools are allowed direct qualifications for ICPC 2018 besides the usual qualification spots.
The winner was ITMO University. Teams of the following countries were awarded medals in ICPC 2017: Russia (2 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze), Poland (1 Gold), South Korea (1 Gold, 1 Bronze), China (3 Silver), Sweden (1 Bronze), Japan (1 Bronze).
Gold
Silver
Bronze
The 2018 World Finals were held in Beijing (China), during April 15–20, hosted by Peking University.
Gold
Silver
Bronze
| ! Rank in Final | Country | Institution | First to Solve Problem | Number of solved problems | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 1 | Panda Preserve & Single Cut of Failure | 9 | |||
| 02 | 2 | Getting a Jump on Crime | 8 | |||
| 03 | 3 | Gem Island | 8 | |||
| 04 | 4 | 8 | ||||
| 05 | 5 | Comma Sprinkler | 7 | |||
| 06 | 6 | Wireless is the New Fiber | 7 | |||
| 07 | 7 | 7 | ||||
| 08 | 8 | 7 | ||||
| 09 | 9 | Go with the Flow | 7 | |||
| 10 | 10 | 7 | ||||
| 11 | 11 | 7 | ||||
| 12 | 12 | Catch the Plane | 7 | |||
| 13 | 13 | 7 |
The 2019 World Finals were held in Porto (Portugal) from March 31 to April 5, 2019, hosted by the University of Porto and the City of Porto.[28]
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 World Finals were postponed.[29] The finals took place in Moscow (Russia) from October 1 to October 5, 2021, hosted by Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.[30]
Gold[31]
Silver
Bronze
Web site: ICPC World Finals Moscow final standings. ICPC World finals. en. 2021-10-16. 2021-10-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20211005073612/https://pc2.ecs.baylor.edu/scoreboard/. dead.
| ! Rank in Final | Country | Institution | First to Solve Problem[32] | No Of Questions Solved | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 1 | B (The Cost of Speed Limits); H (QC QC) | 12 | |||
| 02 | 2 | F (Ley Lines) | 11 | |||
| 03 | 3 | I (Quests) | 11 | |||
| 04 | 4 | 11 | ||||
| 05 | 5 | G (Opportunity Cost) | 11 | |||
| 06 | 6 | A (Cardiology) | 11 | |||
| 07 | 7 | 11 | ||||
| 08 | 8 | D (Gene Folding); O (Which Planet is This?!) | 10 | |||
| 09 | 9 | E (Landscape Generator); J (’S No Problem) | 10 | |||
| 10 | 10 | 10 | ||||
| 11 | 11 | 10 | ||||
| 12 | 12 | 9 |
The 2022 World Finals were held in Dhaka (Bangladesh), hosted by the University of Asia Pacific.[33]
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Source:[34]
| ! Rank in Final | Country | Institution | No Of Questions Solved | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 1 | 11 | |||
| 02 | 2 | 10 | |||
| 03 | 3 | 9 | |||
| 04 | 4 | 9 | |||
| 05 | 5 | 9 | |||
| 06 | 6 | 9 | |||
| 07 | 7 | 9 | |||
| 08 | 8 | 8 | |||
| 09 | 9 | 8 | |||
| 10 | 10 | 8 | |||
| 11 | 11 | 8 | |||
| 12 | 12 | 8 |
| Wins | Country | Institution | Most Recent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | ITMO University | 2017 | ||
| 4 | 2016 | |||
| 3 | 2010 | |||
| 3 | 1991 | |||
| 2 | 2022 | |||
| 2 | 2019 | |||
| 2 | 2007 | |||
| 2 | 1999 | |||
| 2 | 1988 | |||
| 2 | 1980 |
| 18 | 2021 | 47 | ||
| 16 | 2023 | 28 (since 1996) | ||
| 5 | 2022 | |||
| 2 | 2007 | |||
| 2 | 1999 | |||
| 1 | 1998 | |||
| 1 | 1995 | |||
| 1 | 1992 | |||
| 1 | 1990 |
Some former ICPC finalists have made remarkable achievements in the software industry and research. They include Adam D'Angelo, the former CTO of Facebook and founder of Quora; Nikolai Durov, the co-founder of Telegram Messenger; Matei Zaharia, the creator of Apache Spark; Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos and a venture capitalist; Amit Sahai, renowned professor specializing in security and cryptography;Craig Silverstein, the first employee of Google; and Jakub Pachocki, chief scientist of OpenAI.
China
United States
Portugal
Thailand
Poland
Sweden
Canada
Japan
Czech Republic
Netherlands
Germany
Australia
New Zealand