Phuket to host world computer programming finals next year

TECH: Phuket will become the first city in South and Southeast Asia to host the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) World Finals, with the 39th edition of the prestigious competition to be held at the Prince of Songkhla University in June, next year.

Computer programming has come a long way since the times of the DEC VT100 in the 1970s. Photo: Jason Scott

Governor Maitri Inthusut revealed the news yesterday in an exclusive interview with the Phuket News at his mansion in Phuket Town.

“I will travel to the World Finals in Russia next month to receive the flag [for next year’s event] on behalf of Phuket,” he said.

The 38^th ICPC World Finals will take place on June 22- June 26 at Ural Federal University in Ekaterinburg in Russia.

The World Finals of the ICPC, under the umbrella of Association of Computer Machinery (ACM), brings together the best of the best in computer programming.

The contest fosters creativity, teamwork, and innovation in building new software programs, and enables students to test their ability to perform under pressure.

It is the oldest, largest, and most prestigious programming contest in the world.

Phuket has previously hosted the ICPC Regional Finals in 2009, 2011 and 2013; the island also hosted the ICPC Thailand National finals in 2009 and 2010, and was the host of the ICPC Thailand’s Southern region finals in 2010.