2024 ICPC Challenge Championship powered by Huawei concludes in Shenzhen

Huawei’s Institute of Strategic Research President Zhou Hong, at the opening ceremony

A partial view of competitors during the championship

ICPC Challenge Championship powered by Huawei (the Championship) concluded in Shenzhen, marking the second consecutive year the event was held in China. 

The championship is jointly organised by Huawei and the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC). 

It brings together top programmers from around the world to discuss solutions to real-world industry problems, as well as key technology trends and future challenges. This year’s event was attended by more than 90 coaches and contestants from 35 countries and regions.

After five hours of intense competition, Japan’s Hirotaka Yoneda won the championship. Nine other contestants from China, Armenia, Poland and other countries shared second and third prizes.

At the opening ceremony, Huawei’s Institute of Strategic Research President Zhou Hong said, “We will enter an intelligent world within the next 20 to 30 years. This is bringing about unprecedented opportunities, but also creating huge challenges that can only be solved through the joint efforts of bright minds from around the world. Huawei is committed to sharing real-world challenges currently and our hypotheses for the future, opening up our platforms, and working alongside academic and industrial experts and talent, in order to promote major breakthroughs in theoretical research of fundamental science, push the boundaries of application technology, and contribute to a prosperous world.”

The championship is part of Huawei’s ongoing commitment to opening up research platforms in the device, computing, and connectivity fields. It provides next-generation problem-solvers an opportunity to showcase their talent. Since 2019, Huawei and ICPC jointly organised the ICPC Challenge, which has grown into a major event in the world of programming. In 2023, the first ICPC Challenge Championship powered by Huawei was held. The event is mostly for winners of previous ICPC Challenges as well as outstanding contestants from ICPC regional contests and world finals, providing a networking and competitive platform for top programming talent.

During the championship competition, contestants had five hours to program a solution to the problem of optimal photo-story matching, which is closely linked to our daily lives. The championship tested not only contestants’ programming and optimisation skills, but also their modelling capabilities and innovative thinking.

During the championship, a range of side activities were organised for participants. For instance, problem designers and contestants from previous competitions shared their experiences. At sessions called ‘Tech Talks’, senior Huawei technology leaders shared their insights into technology trends and challenges faced by industries, while encouraging young talent to hone their creativity and potential. Presenters included Huawei Fellow Chen Haibo, Huawei Consumer BG Chief Scientist Tian Qi, Huawei HiSilicon Media Algorithm Scientist Michael Bi Mi, and Huawei Consumer BG Director of Software Engineering Human Resource Dept. You Jin.

Huawei will continue supporting top international competitions. By designing problems and facilitating technical exchanges, Huawei will help coaches and contestants explore the latest industrial knowledge and challenges, encourage more talented people to engage in innovation, and drive the flow of knowledge and skills worldwide. Ultimately, this will promote global technology and industry development and improve social well-being.