In conversation with the DU team that won ICPC Regionals 2021
Team 'Not Strong Enough' from the University of Dhaka recently won the Asia Dhaka Regional of the International Collegiate Programming Competition (ICPC) 2021. Among 640 competitors from 164 university-level programming teams around the nation, the team of Jubayer Nirjhor, Ayman Rasheed, and Ayon Shahrier from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Dhaka (CSEDU) ranked first.
ICPC is the world's oldest, largest, and most prestigious programming contest. Teams of three representing their university compete in this algorithmic programming contest on many levels. The competition is first held at the regional level before selecting the top teams, either directly at the global level or through another level within a continent.
This year, at the regional level, the first runner-up was 'Potatoes' from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), with 'kzvd4729' from Jahangirnagar University (JU) placing as the second runner-up. As the team from DU has become the champion of this region, they have directly secured a position for the world level, which is estimated to be held in November 2023 in Egypt.
Regarding the achievement, Jubayer Nirjhor from Team 'Not Strong Enough' expressed much delight. "Although I attended the world finals before, we did not win the regionals then." He further shared, "Winning the ICPC regionals has been a dream for my team and I am so glad it has come true," he expressed.
As the competition is very rigorous, doing well requires a lot of preparation over the years in most cases. Jubayer added, "it is largely because we have been practising consistently since our first year at University that we could perform well."
Ayman Rasheed shared a similar sentiment. "For years, we do an internal practice contest each week which lasts 5 hours," said Ayman. He added that his department, CSEDU, has a culture where the department seniors and sometimes alums give lectures and other materials to them and organises weekly internal competitions on previous years' ICPC questions from various regions to practise. "Moreover, enthusiasts such as us also practise at their homes at their own time and pace, which may range within an hour and two each day," added Jubayer. All of this rigorous training, according to Team 'Not Strong Enough', was just what they needed to succeed.
Ayon Shahrier, a firm believer in the value of team spirit, stated that the team started their journey because they loved to solve problems. "Problem-solving is like a passion that brings our team together and incentivizes us to work harder," he said. He added that since the team has successfully secured a spot on the world stage of the ICPC, they are looking forward to preparing to perform even better on the world stage.
This year, the Asia Regional (Dhaka) of ICPC was held for all Bangladeshi institutions at the Bangladesh University of Business and Technology (BUBT). In the closing ceremony, the special guest was Zunaid Ahmed Palak, the state minister of Bangladesh for information and communication technology.
The competition is advanced algorithmic problem solving, where solutions must be represented by a code. Typically, the language of this code could be C, C++, Python, and other eligible languages. The solution described in coding is essentially similar to theorems in mathematics - it works as a cross-checking of answers.
The competition is coordinated through the online platform called CodeMarshal. The problems the teams need to solve are given in the platform's system. The system has an automatic grading system. When teams submit a solution, the system checks them by itself and decides whether it is right or wrong based on predetermined datasets to run on the provided code. The system also tracks how long teams take to solve the problems. Ranks are decided based on who solved most problems and who solved them quicker in case of a tie. The solved code's efficiency is also considered, among other factors.
The championship of the competition is highly sought after as the regional winner secures a place directly in the world finals. "Pressure was high, but we kept our focus on solving the problems and not getting distracted," shared Jubayer Nirjhor.
In this regional competition, 11 problems were given to be solved in 5 hours. Team DU successfully solved 10 of them. Although the team from BUET also solved 10 problems, they ranked below because they took more time to solve them. The JU team solved 8 problems in total.
Ayman Rasheed explained that the competition gets challenging in the latter half because after solving problems for more than a couple of hours, it becomes difficult to stay at peak efficiency. "Our internal practices came in handy here as we knew this challenge before." To address this, the team took a balanced approach. "We constantly worked at a similar pace throughout the competition and did not rush at the start or the end, which helped us stay calm and solve the problems efficiently," he added.
During the competition at BUBT, each team was given one computer. The teams are not allowed to use their own devices. The computer they are provided can only use the internet for CodeMarshal, the platform in which this competition takes place.
The team had a coordinated approach in the competition with divided work roles. "While one of us would write the final answer code of a solved problem, another would cross-check the code's efficiency. And to stay on time, one of us was always dedicated to keeping an eye on the clock," Jubayer Nirjhor explained their approach during the competition.
The team is now regularly preparing with mentorship from faculty and alums of their department to become "strong enough" for the World Stage of ICPC to be held in Egypt next year's winter.