For this special post let me introduce myself in another way. Let me tell you the very brief story. In grade 7 and by chance, I was introduced to programming and problem solving. It has this deep logic and deep understanding of computational problems which I loved the idea of representing them as with couple of expressions and terms. However, for the following six years I have been crazy by problem solving. I dreamed....really dreamed of going to the IOI (International Olympiad in Informatics). Finally I had the opportunity to participate in IOI 2012 and IOI 2013.
In my opinion, this year's IOI was really special. In Queensland, "where Australia sunshines" (as they say in Australia), I spent one of the most amazing weeks of life in a very beautiful country and of course majestic university, University of Queensland. Green spaces are enormous! It has vast numbers of plants and animals which are ,as many people agreed with me, really different from those you might find in any other country. I can't forget the day we spent in the Australian zoo. We saw Australian crocodiles, birds, koalas and most important kangaroos. Somethings I noticed about Kangaroos, they are very peaceful, very funny, like to enjoy their time and if they felt bored they start jumping! Also we saw wombats, I recommend you google the name cuz its hard to describe them! , but anyway they are dangerous animals which IOIers will never forget cuz the hardest problem in this year's IOI was named after them.
Although some technical problems have happened in the first exam day, I would still say the organization was great! The team guides are in our age and very friendly. In my case, our team was really close to Lin Yan (Rachel) our fantastic team guide and we made friends with other team guides as well. Each day and at least till midnight, the comma room was full of contestants and team guides playing card games. I had the honor to stay in one of the top universities in the world. I loved the dorms in Grace college I have even wrote a message for the girl staying in the room I stayed in! And the great library and the huge garden where we played with our boomerang.
When you think about it International competitions and IOI specifically is bigger than being "just a competition". It is a real chance for all participants to open up their brains and lighten the small lamps in their minds. If you were determinant and serious enough to observe and learn, you will definitely learn many new things about different countries and cultures. Consequently, you will start to be more accepting and appreciating other people. So let me tell you this story, unfortunately, my country Egypt had many limitations in coaching as few trainers, small training time and small capacity for trainees. This has affected me a lot and I always thought of how my skills would have improved if I wasn't moving almost "blindly" in programming. I felt responsible to help other teenagers willing trying to excel in programming and problem solving. In IOI, I was keen on asking different teams about their preparation for the contest and about ways their country encourages young programmers. After asking different contestants, it seemed that we have an international problem. The problem seriousness may vary but you would find many similarities between different countries.
Realizing this, has boosted my feeling of the so-called "World Citizenship", feeling that all people are citizens in one country "Earth". I felt responsible for helping teenagers facing same barrier I faced years ago not only in Egypt but in any place of the world. Then I started to think about different Initiatives that could help IOIers around the world and enhance the performance of programmers in the next years. I wish if anybody wants to co-operate to contact me as soon as possible. So thanks for the IOI which catalyzed my brain to "Think Big"! For the great people who hosted us and for the wonderful long lasting friendships I made. Thanks for the unforgettable week and for the rewarding experience.
In my opinion, this year's IOI was really special. In Queensland, "where Australia sunshines" (as they say in Australia), I spent one of the most amazing weeks of life in a very beautiful country and of course majestic university, University of Queensland. Green spaces are enormous! It has vast numbers of plants and animals which are ,as many people agreed with me, really different from those you might find in any other country. I can't forget the day we spent in the Australian zoo. We saw Australian crocodiles, birds, koalas and most important kangaroos. Somethings I noticed about Kangaroos, they are very peaceful, very funny, like to enjoy their time and if they felt bored they start jumping! Also we saw wombats, I recommend you google the name cuz its hard to describe them! , but anyway they are dangerous animals which IOIers will never forget cuz the hardest problem in this year's IOI was named after them.
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| Feeding a baby Kangaroo! |
Although some technical problems have happened in the first exam day, I would still say the organization was great! The team guides are in our age and very friendly. In my case, our team was really close to Lin Yan (Rachel) our fantastic team guide and we made friends with other team guides as well. Each day and at least till midnight, the comma room was full of contestants and team guides playing card games. I had the honor to stay in one of the top universities in the world. I loved the dorms in Grace college I have even wrote a message for the girl staying in the room I stayed in! And the great library and the huge garden where we played with our boomerang.
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| The garden in front of the university library. |
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| Playing drums in the comma room and........ *badomtesssss* [sound] |
When you think about it International competitions and IOI specifically is bigger than being "just a competition". It is a real chance for all participants to open up their brains and lighten the small lamps in their minds. If you were determinant and serious enough to observe and learn, you will definitely learn many new things about different countries and cultures. Consequently, you will start to be more accepting and appreciating other people. So let me tell you this story, unfortunately, my country Egypt had many limitations in coaching as few trainers, small training time and small capacity for trainees. This has affected me a lot and I always thought of how my skills would have improved if I wasn't moving almost "blindly" in programming. I felt responsible to help other teenagers willing trying to excel in programming and problem solving. In IOI, I was keen on asking different teams about their preparation for the contest and about ways their country encourages young programmers. After asking different contestants, it seemed that we have an international problem. The problem seriousness may vary but you would find many similarities between different countries.
Realizing this, has boosted my feeling of the so-called "World Citizenship", feeling that all people are citizens in one country "Earth". I felt responsible for helping teenagers facing same barrier I faced years ago not only in Egypt but in any place of the world. Then I started to think about different Initiatives that could help IOIers around the world and enhance the performance of programmers in the next years. I wish if anybody wants to co-operate to contact me as soon as possible. So thanks for the IOI which catalyzed my brain to "Think Big"! For the great people who hosted us and for the wonderful long lasting friendships I made. Thanks for the unforgettable week and for the rewarding experience.
Hey Omar! Its Aditya.... ur post is amazing.. and i am with you for the change.. (Y)
ReplyDeleteGreat post!!! An amazing experience!!!
ReplyDelete- A bolivian contestant