The 2009 Spelman College CS Olympiad

We've just sponsored the Seventh Annual Spelman College Computer Science Olympiad for the third consecutive year — something we were proud to do as part of our commitment to supporting computer science education and encouraging talented students from diverse backgrounds. This year, 22 teams from 12 Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) or Association of Computer/Information Sciences and Engineering Departments at Minority Institutions (ADMI) participated in the Olympiad.

One of the five events was the programming challenge, which for the second time was a Google Gadgets competition. Their task? To build an interactive, useful, and creative Google Gadget. Teams worked on their gadget concept and design prior to the Olympiad, and then brought their gadgets to a Friday night hack session, where Googlers and students worked together to debug the gadgets and make last-minute adjustments. At the conclusion of the workshop, teams presented their gadgets to a panel of three Googler judges, demonstrating gadget functionalities, discussing design challenges, and providing suggestions for how they would further refine their gadgets. Our judges were then faced with the tough task of deciding upon the winners:

• First Place: Hampton University "2011"
• Second Place: University of the District of Columbia "Firebirds"
• Third Place: Norfolk State University "Green"

Here's a look at Hampton University's first place gadget, a rendering of a game akin to tic-tac-toe called "Do Not Want."


Congratulations to all 22 teams!

Posted by Anna Davda, University Programs Specialist