What: High School Computer Programming Competition
Who: Bergen Academies, Brick Township High School, East Brunswick School District, Freehold High School, Freehold Township High School, Middletown High School South, Ocean Township High School,
Passaic County Technical Institute, The Pennington School, Toms River High School East, Toms River High School North, Toms River High School South
When: March 20, 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Postponed due to the weather; rescheduled date to be announced.
Where: Monmouth University, 400 Cedar Avenue, West Long Branch, N.J.
Contact: Professor Jamie Kretsch at 732-571-4456
Schedule:
8:30 – 9:15 a.m. – Registration (Magill Commons)
9:15 to 9:45 a.m. – Welcome and Introductions (Magill Commons)
10 to 11:15 a.m. – Information Session on Coding Environment (Howard Hall Labs)
11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. – Lunch (Magill Commons)
12:30 to 3 p.m. – Competition (Howard Hall Labs)
3:15 p.m.to 4:15 p.m. – Award Ceremony (Magill Commons)
Monmouth University’s Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, in conjunction with the University’s student chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Association for Computing Machinery (IEEE/ACM), will host its first programming competition for high school students on Friday, March 20, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. in Magill Commons and Howard Hall. Postponed due to the weather; rescheduled date to be announced.
Sixteen teams of three students representing 12 area high schools will compete in the day-long competition. During the event, the student teams will have a certain number of algorithmic problems to solve using either the C++ or Java programming language. The first place team will bring home a drone donated by sponsor Marathon Data Systems. Second and third place teams will receive a Raspberry Pi kit (a credit-card sized computer that can be programmed to do a variety of exciting things).
“Computer science is about more than learning to code or getting a job. It’s foundational for all 21st-century students who don’t go a waking minute without technology,” said Hadi Partovi, entrepreneur and co-founder of Code.org.
“We are thrilled to host this fun competition to promote computing,” said Jiacun Wang, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering. “The job outlook for college graduates is fantastic. In fact, U.S. News & World Report 2014 Best Jobs report listed software developer and computer system analyst as the top two jobs for the future based on hiring outlook, salary, work-life balance and job security.”
According to Code.com, by the year 2020 there will be 1 million more jobs than students qualified to fill those jobs. It is a top-paying college degree and computer programming jobs are growing at two times the national average.
Monmouth University offers a variety of computer science and software engineering degrees, including a B.S./M.S. minor in computer science, a B.S./M.S./Certificate in software engineering, and an M.S. in information systems.
Sponsors of the competition include Linode, Pearson Higher Education, Marathon Data Systems, Wiley Higher Education, Papa John’s Pizza in West Long Branch, Cengage Learning Higher Education, Bagel Guys Deli, and Monmouth University’s Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Center for the Arts, Department of Athletics, and Bookstore.