Researchers from the GRAFO group attend the Southwest European Competitive Programming Championship

Once again, the “Institut Polytechnique de Paris” has organized the competitive programming competition involving all the educational institutions of the countries located in southwestern Europe, the SWERC. The competition will take place on March 6 and 7, 2021 and venues have been authorized in each of the participating countries to avoid travel.

To participate and represent the University in the SWERC, you only need to be a student of the URJC. “As there are a limited number of places, we have sent an email to students to participate in a qualifying competition where the best will be chosen,” says Jesus Sanchez, coordinator of Competitive Programming at the URJC. So, there is no limitation, students from any course can apply.

The SWERC 2021

Due to the current health situation, there is a multi-site model, so that one institution in each participating country provides its facilities for the championship. In Spain, the venue will be the Complutense University of Madrid and the match will take place as in previous years: in teams of three applicants, they will have to solve the highest number of programming problems within the time limit of five hours, with the only exception of not moving to Paris.

This is not the first time that the URJC has entered the SWERC, “we are very satisfied with the work done by URJC students, always being among the first at the national level and in the middle of the table at the European level. We hope to be able to keep up this pace with the new generations,” explains Sánchez.

The competitive scene in the future

The URJC competitive programming group continues to grow thanks to the support of students and alumni who are very interested in this field. “. Some of the alumni, moreover, work in companies such as Amazon or Accenture, which has made it possible to receive their sponsorship to organize programming events or get prizes for the winners,” Sanchez points out. In this context, Jesús is committed to continue teaching the competitive programming course, in person if the pandemic allows it, or remotely if it is not possible. “In addition, we plan to organize different competitions during the second quarter so that students can put into practice everything they have seen both in the degree and in the course,” Sánchez concludes.