By Peter Schultz

(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) – The University of Central Missouri computer science program will send nine students to an upcoming computer programming competition hosted by Northwest Missouri State University April 7.

The competition will showcase Kansas City area students and test their knowledge by completing an array of problems. The all-day event is meant to create challenges for students that are not normally seen in a classroom, said Jason James, faculty advisor for the UCM teams.

Ryan Evans, senior computer science major with a focus on software development, will compete in the upcoming event.

“I went to a programming competition last semester where we worked on solving different sets of problems,” Evans said. “Competing in these kinds of competitions gives me real-world experience that I can use.”

Evans is also the president of the Association for Computer Machinery at UCM and has used his education and experience at similar competitions to land a position with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

UCM will also be sending Peter Copus, a junior computer science and cyber security major, to the competition. Copus, also a returning veteran from last semester’s event, said he is using this experience to help prepare for his future.

“I want to use this competition to gather real-world experience, improve my communication skills and help improve my teamwork skills,” Copus said. “With each team only having one computer to work on, we must use our communication skills well in order to complete the assigned problems.”

Competing in an event like this is no easy feat. Evans and Copus said they both prepared well for any challenge that may come in April.

“I started programming back when I was in high school,” Evans said. “That is what led me here to UCM.”

Evans is not the only programmer who had an early start in computer science. Copus was also introduced to programming at an early age.

“I have been programming since I was 12,” Copus said. “Both my mom and dad work in the computer science department at UCM, so that helped me a lot.”

James, also a computer science professor in the department said preparing for this type of event is crucial. Without the proper preparation beforehand, the time spent competing may be all for nothing. He said he gauges student interest in the event and divides students up accordingly into teams.

“I am a coach per se, but I allow the students to organize their own practices,” James said. “I help recommend to the students several example problems to prepare for the competition.”

The competition itself is point-based and rewards teams according to completion order.

“Whichever team completes their assigned problems first receives the highest amount of points,” Copus said. “The next team receives fewer points and so on.”

James said receiving these points do not come easy.

“The problems at the competition will range from easy, medium and extremely difficult,” James said. “The extremely difficult problems are designed to give competitors a tough time and are usually unsolvable at this level.”

Competitions like these bring out the best in students who are willing to accept the challenge.

“In the last competition our teams placed first and second,” Evans said. “I am eager to see how we do this time.”

Copus said he is also ready to see what is to come at this competition.

“I am very excited for the competition and can’t wait to see how well me and my team can do,” Copus said.