Sean Stott, a Grade 12 learner at St Andrew’s High
School, who competed in the National Programming
Olympiad under the auspices of the UFS Python Project.
With him is Daniël Wium, lecturer in the UFS Department
of Computer Science and Informatics.
Photo: Supplied
Every year, the South African Computer Olympiad organises the National Programming Olympiad, a countrywide competition in which learners have to solve problems of a mathematical nature through computer coding. Participation could encourage young people to consider a career in information technology.
This year, Sean Stott, a Grade 12 learner at St Andrew’s High School, joined the Python Project, an initiative of the Department of Computer Science and Informatics at the University of the Free State (UFS). He competed in the Olympiad under the auspices of this project.
100% performance
Sean was one of more than 6 500 learners that took part in the competition from the initial stages. He went through to the second round where he achieved 100%. Because of this achievement, he was invited to compete in the final round at the University of Cape Town as one of only 13 learners to qualify for the finals.
Sean named best learner in the Free State
“Our project [the UFS Python Project], was listed as one of the top institutions in South Africa for 2017,” said a proud Daniël Wium. He is a lecturer in the UFS Department of Computer Science and Informatics. The Python Project is an initiative by the department, offering free basic programming skills to learners and preparing them for competitions presented by the South African Computer Olympiad.
Plans for the future
Wium explains: “As in 2017, we will have two learning streams next year, namely a beginner stream and an advanced stream. I am working on acquiring a number of programmable LEGO robots which will be programmed by the beginners to navigate an obstacle course. In the advanced group, I will be focusing on Python programming to prepare the learners for the 2018 Programming Olympiad.”
In addition to the Programming Olympiad, students from the UFS Python Project will also take part in the Talent Search and possibly in the Applications Olympiad. Both competitions are initiatives of the South African Computer Olympiad.
For more information on the UFS Python Project, contact Wium at WiumDJ@ufs.ac.za