HSE Student among Winners of Yandex Cup 2024
In early December, the finals of the Yandex Cup international programming competition took place in Tashkent (Uzbekistan). The prize, which totalled a record 16 million roubles, was shared among the winners from Russia, Belarus, Japan, the USA, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. Dmitry Rempel, student of the HSE Faculty of Computer Science, won in the Backend track.
The competition was held in three rounds: online qualifying and semi-final rounds and the on-site finals in Tashkent. Only 140 participants of the 20,000 applicants made it to the finals.
The competition was held in the following tracks:
Machine Learning
Mobile Development
Frontend
Backend
Analytics
Algorithm
This year’s prize fund, which equals 16 million rubles, was shared among 94 winners from Russia, Belarus, Japan, the USA, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. Dmitry Rempel, second-year student of the Bachelor’s in Applied Mathematics and Information Science, took first place in the Backend track.
Fyodor Romashov, third-year student of the same degree programme, also showed excellent results, taking third place in the Algorithm track.
The main theme of the championship was digital civilisation. The participants studied the history and way of life of ancient civilisations and solved problems dedicated to events and figures of the past. There were tasks on deciphering ancient writing, restoring artifacts, and analysing trade routes.
Mikhail Gustokashin, Director of the Centre of Student Competitions, notes that the Algorithm track of the Yandex Cup attracts the strongest participants in the world, including those who have already graduated from university. ‘Therefore, the excellent results of our students, graduates, and teachers are especially valuable. We also hope to see a significant increase in the number of participants in the Backend track next year—it offers very interesting tasks at the intersection of algorithms and technologies, and our students have great skills in both,’ he added.
Dmitry Rempel, second-year student of the Bachelor’s in Applied Mathematics and Information Science:
‘I am happy to take first place in the Backend track. I am also happy to visit a new country and take part in a major event. I would like to thank Yandex for organising the competition so well. I didn't train for this contest, I just studied and worked, so the result shows my real knowledge.
The round lasted the standard five hours. The Backend track featured diverse tasks, including an algorithmic graph task and an optimisation task for data encoding. To successfully compete in this kind of competition, you need to have in-depth knowledge of algorithms, industrial development, as well as the ability to quickly search for information and constantly learn new things. I plan to continue participating in competitions and to take part in the Yandex Cup next year. I also want to participate in CTF competitions.’