Gold for Harbour.Space University at the ICPC World Finals in Luxor!

For the last two years, Harbour.Space has won both a gold and a silver medal at SWERC, the Southwestern Europe Regional Contest, earning their spots at this year’s International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) World Finals in Luxor, Egypt. This event brings together the brightest minds in computer programming from the top universities worldwide and showcases their problem-solving abilities, teamwork, and programming knowledge. 

For the first time, Harbour.Space took home a gold medal in this esteemed collegiate competition, topping institutional giants like Stanford, MIT, Cambridge, and Oxford. With this medal, Harbour.Space makes clear that it is no longer “the embryo of Stanford University in town (Barcelona)” but a front collegiate performer in Europe and the Western World.

This year, the 46th and 47th ICPC World Finals were held simultaneously in Luxor, Egypt, and were hosted by the Arab Academy of Science, Technology, and Maritime Transports. Over 840 participants representing more than 50 nations and more than 170 universities competed. 

In these finals, teams had to strategise and work together to devise innovative solutions within a limited timeframe. The intensity and complexity of the problems pushed the participants to the limit, highlighting their exceptional problem-solving skills.

Besides the competition, the ICPC World Finals foster cultural exchange and networking among the contestants. It provides a unique opportunity for programmers from around the world, who come from very different backgrounds, to connect, share ideas, and build relationships that will impact their future. 

With less than 500 students, Harbour.Space is a multinational university packed with amazing talent, and for the last two years, its programming teams have won medals at SWERC, earning their spot in the ICPC World Finals. 

The 2022 SWERC gold medal team participated in the 46th final, RAW POTS (Stop War spelt backwards), formed by Maksym Oboznyi from Ukraine; Marco Meijer from the Netherlands; and Daniil Zazhikhin from Russia, and our 2023 SWERC silver medal team, P+P+P, participated in the 47th final, formed by Yahor Dubovik, from Belarus, Batyr Sardarbekov from Kazakhstan and Sergei Zolotarev from Russia.

Both teams were coached by Kamil Debowski or “Errichto”, Harbour. Space's Competitive Programming Teacher. Having written over 300 problems for Codeforces, Topcoder, Codechef, and other platforms, he has attained the highest titles available, including "Legendary Grandmaster" on Codeforces and "Target" on Topcoder. He has been teaching full-time since 2018 and has taught high school classes, CP camps, private coaching, and video lessons; you can find him on his YouTube channel, which has over 300,000 subscribers and more than 12 million views. 

Kamil couldn’t be more proud of his team’s performance,

After many hours of strenuous problem-solving and endless lines of code, P+P+P emerged triumphant for the 47th finals. They seized the gold medal and were the 4th ranked team of the entire competition; only the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Peking University, and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology came out on top of them. 

Harbour.Space's CEO and co-founder, Svetlana Velikanova, emphatically stated:

Unfortunately, RAW POTS couldn't attain a medal, but they had an excellent participation. The 46th contest was won by Peking University, followed by MIT, the National Research University Higher School of Economics, and Oxford University.

This medal, together with the extraordinary participation by the "P+P+P" team, places Harbour.Space University among the best universities to study STEM-oriented careers in the world. As Harbour.Space CEO states, "By preparing top-tier professionals for the burgeoning AI industry, our university is making a profound contribution… Moreover, through our joint Master's programme with UVic-UCC, one of Catalonia's most dynamic universities, we are fostering collaboration and innovation to drive even greater success in the future."

Definitely, the ICPC World Finals not only celebrate the brilliance of the world's young programmers but also the significance of studying Data or Computer science. Why? Because if people can combine problem-solving with data analysis, they can unlock the solutions to complex real-world challenges, and those skills can be used in any field or enterprise.

The staff, faculty, students, alumni, and everyone involved with Harbour.Space University would like to congratulate the winners and participants of the ICPC World Finals for their outstanding performance and hard work. More than 170 universities from across the globe participated, and Harbour.Space came out on top!

Congratulations to all the participants and winners!