Zhejiang University Students Seize "World's Smartest" Trophy at the "Battle of the Brains"

ORLANDO, Fla., May 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Students from Zhejiang University have been crowned World Champions of the 2011 Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) on Monday, May 30. Sponsored by IBM (NYSE: IBM), the competition, also known as the "Battle of the Brains," challenged 105 university teams to solve some of the most challenging computer programming problems in just five hours.

Click here to watch a video summary of the event.  

Hosted at the Peabody Hotel and Conference Center in Orlando, Florida, throughout the week, students embraced the latest in technology and advanced computing methods including the opportunity to experience a number of high profile technologies from IBM, such as analytics and cloud computing.

Mastering both speed and skill, Zhejiang University successfully solved eight problems in five hours. The World Champions will return home with the "world's smartest" trophy as well as IBM prizes, scholarships and a guaranteed offer of employment or internship with IBM.

"As IBM continues to explore technologies such as large-scale analytics and cloud infrastructure, we recognize the need for supreme talent and skill," said Dr. Michael Karasick, vice president of architecture and technology at IBM Software Group.  "Although many of these students will become software experts and technology leaders in the future, we want to help them understand business issues and real world problems that they are going to face when their generation will take over the responsibilities."  

In addition to the contest, participants interacted with IBM executives, fellow students and technologies from around the globe, providing an enriching, diverse first-hand experience.

"The ICPC is not just an international computer contest; it's a meeting place for some of the smartest brains in the world to come together and harness their talents in an effort to make life better for people everywhere," said Dr. Bill Poucher, ICPC Executive Director and Baylor University Professor. "The students taking part in the World Finals have the educational and professional opportunities of a lifetime, and I know that they will come home from Florida with many valuable lessons for the future."      

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Tsinghua University, and St. Petersburg University finished the competition in second, third, and fourth places, all taking home gold medals, as well as employment or internship offers.

This year's top twelve teams that received medals are:

• Zhejiang University, (GOLD, WORLD CHAMPION, CHINA)
• University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, (GOLD, 2nd Place, USA)
• Tsinghua University, (GOLD, 3rd Place, CHINA)
• St. Petersburg State University, (GOLD, 4th Place, RUSSIA)
• Nizhny Novgorod State University, (SILVER, 5th Place, RUSSIA )
• Saratov State University, (SILVER, 6th Place, RUSSIA)
• Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, (SILVER, 7th Place, GERMANY)
• Donetsk National University, (SILVER, 8th Place, UKRAINE)
• Jagiellonian University in Krakow, (BRONZE, 9th Place, POLAND)
• Moscow State University, (BRONZE, 10th Place, RUSSIA)
• Ural State University, (BRONZE, 11th Place, RUSSIA)
• University of Waterloo, (BRONZE, 12th Place, CANADA)

The 105 teams that competed in the World Finals in Orlando represent the top competitors from more than 8,305 teams from 2,070 universities located in 88 countries on six continents. Since 1997, the IBM-sponsored ICPC has grown 1,000 percent in size.

The 2012 World Finals, sponsored by IBM, will take place in Warsaw, Poland. The University of Warsaw will host the contest.

About the ACM ICPC

Headquartered at Baylor University (http://www.baylor.edu), the ACM ICPC is a global competition among the world's university students, nurturing new generations of talent in the science and art of information technology. For more information about the ACM ICPC, including downloadable photographs, and the complete World Finals roster and final standings, visit ICPC headquarters Web site http://acmicpc.org. A podcast series "Battle of the Brains" is at http://battleofthebrains.podbean.com. RSS feeds are available. For IBM's insights, visit www.ibm.com/university/acmcontest/. Follow the contest on Twitter at http://twitter.com/brainbattleicpc.  

About ACM

ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery www.acm.org, is the world's largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting computing educators, researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field's challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession's collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking.

Media Contact:
Amanda Carl
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SOURCE ICPC