PSPO

The PSPO was established by the Cyprus Computer Society (CCS) in 1991 in response to the invitation to participate in the third International Olympiad in Informatics that took place in 1991 in Athens, Greece. Since then, The Society has been organizing the Cypriot competition every year.

In the early days, it was difficult to attract students to participate because there were no computers in schools and Computing was not taught in the schools.

Nowadays, the PSPO runs in two rounds and attracts about 200 top students with skills and interest in computer programming every year.

Due to the involvement of the Society in the international competitions, Cyprus has organized in 1996 the 4th Balkan Olympiad in Informatics, during the period 20-25 October and in 2006 the 14th Balkan Olympiad in Informatics, during the period 1-7 July 2006.

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Mission

To promote the use of Computing and Information Technology among high school students of the public and private schools of Cyprus.

To give an opportunity to young talented students to prove their skills and knowledge in computer programming.

To bring young students having the same interests together and give them the opportunity to network, exchange ideas and cooperate.

To select the Official Team of Cyprus that represents our country in International Programming Competitions; the Balkan Olympiad in Informatics and the International Olympiad in Informatics.

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Rules

Eligible to participate are all students of public and private secondary education schools, both Greek and English speaking. Eligible to participate are also young high school graduates who, at the time of the competition, serve the Cyprus army. The competitors who will be selected to represent Cyprus in the International Competitions have to also conform to additional rules set by the authorities and the committeess of these competitions. These rules relate to the age of the competitors at the time of the International Competitions and to their status (i.e not to be university students).

The programming languages used during the competition are: PASCAL, C, C++. The Borland versions of these compilers will be installed on the competitors PCs. Competitors may use any version of these languages provided that they bring with them the required compiler and install them prior to the beginning of the competition.

Language of the Competition: The description of the programming tasks will be given to candidates in both the Greek and English languages. Competition PhasesThere are two mandatory phases to the competition. The organizing committee reserves the right to organize a third phase in order to declare the winners.

In the first phase, all students registered to participate are invited to take a written test. Their task is to solve basic-to-intermediate computer problems on paper. In this phase, the objective is to diagnose the basic knowledge of the participants in any of the three programming languages (see below for details) without giving concern to the syntax of the programming languages.

In the second phase, about 30% of the successful students of the first phase are invited to solve basic-to-intermediate computer problems using a PC and a programming language. The intention here is to identify the depth and breadth of knowledge of the participants as regards the programming languages and their way of algorithmic thinking and problem solving capabilities.

If required, a third and final phase will be organized in which, about 5% – 10% of the successful students of the second phase, are invited to solve intermediate-to-advanced computer problems using a PC and a programming language.

Winners: There are 4 winners to this competition and ranking is done based on the achievements and results of the candidates. The four winners will make up the official team of Cyprus who will participate in the Balkan and International Olympiads in Informatics.

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Evaluation Criteria

The solutions provided by competitors will be evaluated by Members of the Cyprus Computer Society and the Scientific and Technical Chamber (ETEK) of Cyprus based on the following criteria:

Correctness of solution

Completeness of solution

Efficiency and effectiveness of the solution

Innovation of the solution

Overall program documentation

Usage of correct programming language syntax

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Awards

Like every year, the first 4 winners will formally represent Cyprus in two International events, the Balkan Olympiad in Informatics (BOI) and the International Olympiad in Informatics .

The 2011 International Olympiad in Informatics will take place in Thailand (22-29 July 2011).

The place and date for the 2011 Balkan Olympiad will be announced soon.

All expenses (air tickets, hotel accommodation, meals, personal insurance) of the four students will be covered by the Cyprus Computer Society and the Ministry of Education and Culture.

All participants will receive a certificate of participation.

An awards ceremony will be organized at a date that will be announced later under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Culture with the support of our sponsors, ECDL CYPRUS, Laiki e-Bank and Microsoft.Η Παγκύπρια Μαθητική Ολυμπιάδα Πληροφορικής είναι διαγωνισμός προγραμματισμού ηλεκτρονικών υπολογιστών για μαθητές της δευτεροβάθμιας εκπαίδευσης, δημόσιας και ιδιωτικής. Διοργανώνεται από τον Κυπριακό Σύνδεσμο Πληροφορικής σε δύο φάσεις σε ετήσια βάση.

Ο κύριος στόχος του είναι η αναβάθμιση της χρήσης της τεχνολογίας της πληροφορικής και της έννοιας του προγραμματισμού ανάμεσα στους μαθητές.

Η διοργάνωση αποβλέπει επίσης στην επιλογή της επίσημης κυπριακής αντιπροσωπείας της Κύπρου η οποία συμμετέχει στις διοργανώσεις της Διεθνούς και  Βαλκανικής Ολυμπιάδας Πληροφορικής.