Round 4: Practice Bootcamp

The Software Engineering Department, Faculty of Computer Science of Gharjistan University, in collaboration with Kateb University, hosted the 4th ICPC (International Collegiate Programming Contest) Practice Competition on October 8, 2025 (17 Mizan 1404).
This event brought together 36 teams from the most prestigious public and private universities across Afghanistan.

Objectives
• The main objective of this competition was to prepare students and programming teams for the official ICPC contests.
• Additionally, the event aimed to enhance participants’ technical skills and algorithmic problem-solving abilities, while promoting collaboration and healthy competition among universities.

Event Process
• The competition was conducted in a professional and well-organized environment, following international standards.
• Over the course of three and a half hours, teams tackled challenging programming problems in areas such as search algorithms, graph theory, and intelligent programming.
• Participants used C++, Python, and Java to solve the problems.
• Teams applied innovative techniques and creative approaches to achieve optimal solutions.

Results
• At the end of the contest, final rankings were determined based on the number of problems solved and the total time taken by each team.
• The teams with the highest number of correct solutions were recognized as top performers.

Significance and Achievements
• This practice contest served as a valuable educational and professional experience, helping students strengthen their ability to tackle complex computational problems.
• Participants gained practical exposure to advanced algorithmic and programming concepts that will benefit their future academic and professional paths.
• Moreover, such events foster teamwork, collaboration, and innovation, encouraging students to represent Afghanistan successfully in international programming competitions.

Future Plans
• Gharjistan University, with continued support from Kateb University, plans to organize similar practice contests regularly to allow more students from across the country to participate and develop their programming skills.
• By expanding collaboration among universities, it is hoped that Afghanistan will produce stronger representatives in upcoming international programming contests.

Closing Remarks
This practice contest marked a significant step forward in empowering Afghanistan’s young and passionate programming community, inspiring creativity, innovation, and technical excellence.