The 2026 ICPC National Invitational Contest in Shenyang was recently held at Northeastern University. Three student teams representing Communication University of China (CUC) delivered strong performances, winning two gold medals and one bronze medal. Associate Professor Yang Lifang from the School of Information and Communication Engineering led the teams and provided guidance throughout the competition.
The International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC), widely regarded as the "Olympics" of computer programming, is one of the world's premier high-level algorithm competitions. This year's contest brought together 286 teams, including five guest teams, from 178 universities across China, including the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Wuhan University and Harbin Institute of Technology. Nearly 1,000 talented programmers competed in an intense and highly competitive event. CUC's two gold medals mark a new breakthrough for the university in top-level ACM competitions, demonstrating CUC students' strong information technology foundations and innovative practical capabilities. The achievement also represents another outcome of the university's continued efforts to cultivate interdisciplinary talent for the era of artificial intelligence.
About the Competition
The ICPC has a comprehensive competition system extending from the World Finals to regional contests in Asia, the East Asia Finals, provincial competitions and national invitational contests. The China Collegiate Programming Contest (CCPC) has developed in parallel with the ICPC, together forming the core competitive track for algorithm competitions in Chinese universities.
The competition is conducted in teams of three, with each team sharing a single computer. Within five hours, contestants must work together to solve approximately 13 programming problems covering a broad range of algorithmic concepts, including greedy algorithms, search, number theory, dynamic programming, trees, graphs and advanced data structures. The competition comprehensively tests mathematical reasoning, algorithm optimisation, code debugging, problem-solving under pressure and teamwork. It has become an important benchmark for assessing the quality of computer science and artificial intelligence talent development in Chinese universities, as well as an important reference for companies seeking algorithmic talent.
Looking Back at the Competition
At the competition venue, the three CUC teams each demonstrated their strengths. Facing intense pressure, team members divided responsibilities effectively, calmly identified and corrected errors, and worked together to overcome challenging problems. Their solid skills and consistent performance earned them outstanding results.
Behind these achievements lies the long-term and systematic training of CUC's ACM team. To help students strengthen their foundations and prepare for competitions, the university has equipped the ACM programme with a dedicated training computer lab, established a tiered training system, and appointed professional instructors to provide regular training. With guidance from faculty members and experienced senior students, participants progress from the basics through systematic algorithm training.
The results demonstrate CUC students' strong algorithmic competence and engineering capabilities, and represent a stage in the university's efforts to cultivate interdisciplinary media and technology talent. CUC will continue to improve its disciplinary competition development system, establish high-level and regular platforms for scientific and technological innovation, and encourage more students to strengthen their digital technology capabilities through participation in high-level competitions in China and abroad. The goal is to cultivate interdisciplinary media and technology professionals equipped with professional expertise, technical skills and innovative thinking.
This article was translated with AI assistance.
Editor: Fang Yiran
