Winners of the successful 1015Challenge

A new activity was added to the core introductory Computer Science course, CSC1015F, being to solve as many problems as you can during the semester, in the least number of submissions. The problems to solve were cast as real-life (and fun) issues that were in need of a computational solution. For instance, creating a ‘load balancing’ app to manage one’s electricity use, a solution for book loans from a library, sorting and presenting soccer scores, and an introductory version of the classic ‘game of life’. They required students to apply all the knowledge learned during the semester, and occasionally a bit more as well, thereby pushing the students’ Python programming skills a step further.

The 1015Challenge saw 84 students submitting at least 1 possible solution, of whom 50 had at least one correct solution, and three students had solve all 12 problems. The highest number of attempts to get it right was 17, the lowest 1. There were three categories of prizes, with the winners as follows.

Top-5 overall

1. Victor Asiwe (520 points, all 12 problems solved)

2. Laurens Weyn (515 points, all 12 problems solved)

3. Matthew Morris (510 points, all 12 problems solved)

4. Keshlen Naidu (448 points, 11 problems solved)

5. Jean-Jacq Du Plessis (447 points, 11 problems solved)

First to solve a problem: Problems A-F: Taejun Park; Problem G: Jeremy Wilkinson; Problems H, I, L: Matthew Morris; Problem J: Jean-Jacq Du Plessis; Problem K: Victor Asiwe.

First new student to solve a problem:

Problem A: Taejun Park

Problem B: Victor Asiwe

Problem C: Matthew Morris

Problem D: Jeremy Wilkinson

Problem E: Keshlen Naidu

Problem F: Stefan Schroder

Problem G: Jean-Jacq Du Plessis

Problem H: Andrew Joubert

Problem I: Juan Claude Formanek

Problem J: -

Problem K: Xiao Fei Wang

Problem L: -

The winners received various prizes from the Computer Science Department, ranging from an 8GB USB stick to bags to a warm wooly hat to make it through the Cape Town winter.

Congratulations to all for their impressive performance! We hope to see you again for another challenge—and more prizes—in CSC1016S in the next semester.