Five talented Romanian programmers are on their way to a training camp in Russia ahead of the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest later in the year. The event is one of the main university level computer science competitions, but unlike the International Informatics Olympiad, the Collegiate Programming Contest is very much a team event.

The Romanian students will have access to cutting edge equipment and some of the best minds in the field during their time at the training camp. This year's ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest is in Saint Petersburg, Russia, over the summer and it is hoped that by attending the training camp the Romanian team can improve on performances in previous events.

“So far, Romania has finished in the top third in this contest. An honorable result, but not good enough if we consider the potential for results of Romanian programmers. This year, we are aiming for a top 10 place, with the help of the Petrozavodsk training camp,” said a coach for the Romanian, team Marius Dumitran.

Romania's Bucharest University will be represented in the event by Adrian Budău, Mihai Calancea and Șerban Stan, all of whom have won medals previously in computing competitions. Romania's team also includes two coaches; Marius Dumitran and Andrei Grigorean.

Local online retailer eMAG is sponsoring Romania's team. Tudor Vlad of eMAG says there is a correlation between countries that perform well in competition and the locations of cutting edge computing facilities. It is hoped that the know-how gained at the training camp will not only help the team in the competition, but also have a positive effect on the IT industry in Romania.

Find out more about the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest.

Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com

photo source: sxc.hu