Saratov State University, an institution nestled on Russia’s Volga River, earned top honors Wednesday in an annual event that could fairly be called the Olympics of undergraduate computer science. Only one U.S. team—the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—was among the top 20 finishers.
MIT’s squad finished in eighth. (Photograph by David Hill)
For over a decade after its inception, the contest was dominated by teams from the United States. But students from around the world now match wits at the event, and American teams’ fortunes have faded. Over the past 10 years, squads from Asia, Australia, and Eastern Europe have taken turns climbing to the top of the programming heap. Last year’s competition, held in Shanghai, was won by the local favorites, a three-person team from Shanghai Jiaotong University.
The declining fortunes of American colleges have caused a considerable amount of hand-wringing among some professors and technology analysts, who cite poor showings in the competition as evidence that the country’s grip on technological dominance has slipped badly. (The Chronicle, subscription required)
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