In order to express recognition for the projects developed by high school students in their high school course Programming I and II, as well as to introduce a broader audience to the solutions students created within the course, this spring, Riga Business School as a structural unit of Riga Technical University in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science, as well as with the technology companies Tet and LMT, announced the programming competition. 27 project applications were received from 22 Latvian schools. In total, 51 students represent all submitted projects.
According to the contest’s rules, until May 22, a jury evaluated the submitted projects. The jury consisted of experts from Tet, LMT, and Riga Business School. It assessed the submitted projects in five categories, including how well the problem is defined and what the students say they’ve learned along the way. A short video presenting the project had to be uploaded on YouTube, providing access to the jury.
After the jury’s evaluation, ten teams are invited to the finals on June 10 at Riga Business School. Half of the teams represent various schools in Riga, and half represent schools from other cities and towns in Latvia:
- Rēzekne State Gymnasium No. 1 with the solution “Remote Lighting Control,”
- Ventspils State Gymnasium No. 1 with the solution “Py Candles”,
- Valmiera Pārgauja State Gymnasium with the solution “IdeaDraw”,
- Riga State Gymnasium No.1 with the solution “CloudFridge”,
- Sigulda Town Secondary School with the solution “Robot control panel,”
- RTU Engineering High School with the solution “Phosys,”
- Jāņa Eglīša Preiļu State Gymnasium with the solution “Green Valley”,
- Riga Classical Gymnasium with the solution “Offline graphic calculator,”
- Riga Zolitude Gymnasium with the solution “OriBot – multifunctional telegram bot,”
- the joint team of the Riga Technical College, Riga Engineering High School, and Riga State Gymnasium No.1 with the solution “Spotloc.”
“I would like to express gratitude to all students who submitted their programming projects developed during their studies. This competition repeatedly proves that the knowledge students acquire must be applicable outside the school as much as possible. Submitted works confirm that young people are using the obtained knowledge and technologies to solve various tasks of daily life.”
Santa Šmīdlere, Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Science
Experts from Tet, LMT, Riga Business School, Ministry of Education and Science, and Ministry of Economics will evaluate the teams during the finals. Also, one of the teachers who completed the Harvard University’s computer science course CS50 this academic year will join the jury. In the finals, documentation and technical solution will be assessed in addition to the criteria already evaluated in the first round.
Regardless of whether the work is submitted individually or in a group, each student will receive a prize for the purchase of technology at LMT Customer Centres and Tet stores – for the 1st place – worth 500 euros; for the 2nd place – 300 euros; but for the 3rd place –150 euros. Also, teachers of the first three teams will receive prizes, each worth 100 euros.
In Latvia, 8,547 students in 142 schools study Programming I, and 1,626 students in 77 schools study Programming II. The programming contest is one of the initiatives through which Riga Business School as a structural unit of Riga Technical University, with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Economy, LMT, and Tet, hopes to attract even more young people to the field of programming and to strengthen the learning of technology not only in higher education but also in schools.
