Course description
Registrations received by 21 July 2024 will be given full consideration although registration may be kept open beyond this date.
The Algorithmic Programming Contests course is a 5 ECTS extracurricular course providing students from the University of Groningen with an introduction to the world of programming contests through a mix of (guest) lectures, labs, and participation in individual and team contests. This course was introduced in 2022-2023.
The lectures will cover theory, algorithms, and various aspects of the contests. Some of the topics addressed in this course are: effective programming, matching problem classes with suitable solution strategies, dynamic programming, and the application of graph algorithms.
The course is spread over three blocks, allowing the content of the lectures to be influenced by the needs of the students (e.g., in the case where a common content deficiency is identified) and to accommodate talks from renowned guest lecturers.
Tentative structure of the course
Block 1a
- Lectures: 3-4
- Labs: 4
- Team contests: 3 (BAPC preliminary, BAPC 2024, Internal contest)
Block 1b
- Lectures: 2
- Labs: 2
- Team contests: 1 (Internal contest, NWERC)
- Individual contests: 1 (Internal contest)
Block 2a
- Lectures: 2
- Labs: 2
- Team contests: 0
- Individual contest: 2 (Internal contests)
Registration
Contact
- Email address of the course: apc@rug.nl
- Course co-ordinator: Revantha Ramanayake (d.r.s.ramanayake@rug.nl)
- Lecturer: Ivan Bliznets PhD (i.bliznets@rug.nl)
Registration
Please read all the information displayed on the website and on Ocasys prior to registration. If you still have questions, please send an email to the course email address.
Note that there is a cap of 30 students so this course is only accessible to students who have been selected. For this reason, please mention all relevant experience when completing the registration form. (Deadline: 21 July)
Ocasys
Link to the Ocasys page containing up-to-date information on the course.
Make sure to select the academic year 2024/25 when viewing this course on Ocasys.
F.A.Q.
1. How to pass this course?
The final grade that is given in this course is PASS or FAIL. A student is deemed to PASS the course provided by (i) attendance >= 70% in lectures and computer labs, (ii) active participation in course assignments, (iii) participation in four course-approved contests with at least three problems solved in each (at least two of the contests must be individual contests).
2. Can I take this course as part of the minor/bachelor?
No. This is an extracurricular course and so the credits gained do not count towards the 180 ECTS that is required to complete the Bachelor programme.
3. Who are the lecturers of this course?
The coordinator of the course is D.R.S. Ramanayake and I. Bliznets will be lecturer. There will also be guest lecturers from within and outside of RUG.
4. Is this course open to all students?
Yes, although a primary target is 2nd year students. Also note that there is a cap of 30 students.
5. Can this course be added to my student record?
Yes!
6. What is BAPC 2024?
This is the 2024 edition of the algorithmic programming contest involving university teams of three persons from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg (BeNeLux). The tentative date for the contest is the 26th of October 2024 and it will hosted by Groningen. Selection for the BAPC 2024 is via the BAPC Preliminary (tentative date: 21st September). Students in the APC course are expected to participate in the BAPC Preliminary, and BAPC 2024 (if their team is selected), so please reserve these dates.
7. What is a course-approved external contest?
Any contest that is pre-approved by the course coordinator as eligible. Such contests may include those organised by the ICPC, such as BAPC preliminary, BAPC finals and NWERC (Northwestern Europe Regional Contest) or organised by the Fully Connected Graph committee. We will also consider the option of pre-approving selected other online contests e.g. from CodeForces or CodeChef. Specific details will be provided in due course.
RUG Past Results
BAPC 2021
- #43. RUG5
- #47. RUG1
- #56. RUG3
- #59. RUG4
- #60. RUG2
NWERC 2021
- #82. N-RUG2
- #125. N-RUG1
BAPC 2022
- #12. Balloon Addicts, Passionate Coders (bronze medal)
- #22. Rodina
- #27. The Pool Party
- #39. 3Guys1Segfault
- #40. while (true) height--;
NWERC 2022
- #86. The Pool Party
- #88. Balloon Addicts, Passionate Coders
- #99. Rodina
- #106. 3Guys1Segfault
BAPC 2023
- #25. LLaMA Prophets
- #28. Rodina
- #30. Balloon Addicts Passionate Coders
- #31. The Pool Party
- #38. National team of Switzerland
NWERC 2023
- #58. Rodina
- #80. LLaMA Prophets
- #97. Balloon Addicts Passionate Coders
NKP/BAPC Winners
- 1992. TBD (shared with University of Amsterdam)
- 1993. TBD (shared with University of Amsterdam)
- 1995. m38c
- 1997. *scratch*
- 2000. Bug Fiction
- 2002. Bug Fiction