Riga Business School, as a unit of Riga Technical University, announces a Programming competition for high school students with the aim of showcasing high school students’ ideas or problems that are implemented or solved through programming to the wider public. Participants are required to present a project on a problem of relevance to a community group, developed in the high school course Programming I or II. The Programming competition is financially supported by the technology giant LMT.
Students can apply for the competition until 22 April on the Riga Business School website rbs.lv by preparing a short video about the programming solution developed in the high school course Programming I or II. The competition is open to both individual and team projects of up to three people. The topic of the project is chosen by the students or in consultation with their teacher. The ten best teams will present their solutions in Riga on 11 May at the Riga Business School. The applications will be evaluated by a jury of representatives from Riga Business School, LMT, the Ministry of Education and Science, the IT Education Foundation, as well as a programming teacher.
For winning the competition, each student will individually receive a cash prize of €300 for 1st place, €150 for 2nd place and €100 for 3rd place. Prizes will also be awarded to the teachers of the first three prize-winners, each with a €100 gift card. The prize fund is meant for the purchase of technology in LMT customer centres.
Silvija Reinberga, the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Science: ”In Latvia, we need to continuously work on improving young people’s skills in computer science and science subjects, which is why we support a number of initiatives that encourage young people’s interest in programming subjects. The competition is a great example of the application of the skills students have learned, their passion and creativity. I believe that the entries will open up new perspectives on topics of relevance to society. ”
Claudio Rivera, the Director of Riga Business School: ”The Programming competition is a good benchmark to demonstrate what has been learned during the school year, to be judged by a competent jury and to win valuable prizes for the students. We want to encourage more and more young people to learn programming, to strengthen their skills in technology and to dare to become innovators so that Latvia can be proud of its bright minds.”
According to the Ministry of Education and Science, there are currently 139 schools in Latvia studying Programming I and 115 schools studying Programming II. The Programming Competition is one of the initiatives that contribute to attracting more young people to the field of programming and strengthen technology learning not only in higher education but also in schools.
This is the second year of the Programming competition organised by Riga Business School. Last year, 27 teams took part in the competition, 10 of which were invited to the final round.
More information about the coding competition and how to apply: https://rbs.lv/programming-competition-for-secondary-school-students/
