UW representatives win championship in programming

On January 19th the final of "Algorithmic Engagements" competition was held. This competition in individual programming is regarded as the most prestigious in Poland. The representatives of our university left other contestants behind. The winner was Tomasz Czajka, a graduate of the Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics. The students of this faculty – Jakub Pachocki and Marcin Smulewicz won the second and the third places respectively.

Tomasz Czajka and Jakub Pachocki solved all the 8 problems prepared by the organisers, with Czajka having completed the task eight minutes ahead of Pachocki. Marcin Smulewicz, the winner of the third place, solved six problems.

The final of the eighth edition of "Algorithmic Engagements", organised jointly by the Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics of the University of Warsaw and Google, was held in the University Library in Warsaw. There were 20 best programmers competing to win the title of algorithm champion, selected from a group of 2000 contestants from all around Poland during the earlier stages of the competition.

The laureates of "Algorithmic Engagements" have an impressive record of accomplishments in prominent international programming competitions. Tomasz Czajka was the world champion of 2003 in collegiate programming; he was also the winner of three editions of Top Coder Open. Jakub Pachocki currently holds the title of world vice-champion in collegiate programming; he also won the last edition of Google Code Jam. The accomplishments of Marcin Smulewicz include winning the High School Programming League and being ranked fifth in XVII Polish Academic Collegiate Programming Championships.

The idea of organising "Algorithmic Engagements" first appeared at the Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics of the University of Warsaw back in 2001. The first five editions were referred to as "Algorithm Busters". The name of "Algorithmic Engagements" was adopted in 2005 and the competition was organised then jointly by the Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics and Advanced Digital Broadcast company from Zielona Góra.

More information on the competition site