Computer Science students from Swansea University will take part in a prestigious European computing competition later this month, thanks to a funding award from leading technology company HP.
Four undergraduate students – Sorin Dinu, Horia Maior, Thomas Chamberlain, and Matthew Pike – will compete in the Northwestern European Regional Programming Contest (NERWC2011), at Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany from November 25-27.
An award of £1,800 was made to the team by HP through Swansea University-led Software Alliance Wales, which will enable the students and an academic mentor to attend and compete in the contest.
The Swansea team will be pitting their computing wits against leading competitors from institutions including Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, Imperial and other universities from across Europe.
Professor Matt Jones, Head of the Computer Science Department at Swansea University’s College of Science, said: “We’re hugely appreciative of this funding from HP, and very grateful to Software Alliance Wales for their assistance.
“This sponsorship will allow our students to show what Computer Science has to offer by competing on an international stage, and I wish them all the very best in their endeavours next month.”
David Lake Morgan of HP Enterprise Services, said: “HP believes Swansea University and Software Alliance Wales are key components at providing the next generation of IT professionals to improve the Welsh knowledge economy. With our strong commitment to the South and West Wales Region, HP has a vested interest in ensuring the quality is maintained and are absolutely delighted to provide this award.”
Horia Maior, a third year undergraduate representing Computer Science at Swansea University in the contest said: “I’m really looking forward to taking part in NWERC 2011 and grateful to the support from the department, Software Alliance Wales and HP. We’re all really excited and can’t wait to show the competition what Swansea can do.”
The students’ mentor Dr Max L Wilson, a lecturer in the Future Interaction Technology Lab at Swansea University’s Computer Science Department, added: “This is a highly esteemed international contest, and I’m delighted that some of our top students will get a chance to prove themselves at this level.”
The winning team from NERWC2011 will advance to the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest World Finals to be held in Warsaw, Poland, where they will compete on an international stage with student teams from other regional contests which have taken place across the globe.
