UQCS CodeJam 2020 (presented by Atlassian)

10am – 3:30pm, Saturday 28th March

Contest now open on HackerRank.
Sign up to compete and get on the leaderboard!

The UQCS CodeJam is an individual competitive programming competition. You get a list of questions to solve varying in difficulty, with harder questions gaining more points. The questions use knowledge from a wide range of fields but all can be solved with the help of code.

It’s a fun challenge to get experience in these styles of questions, which are often asked by employers in technical interviews.

Keep reading to find out more about the competition and what to expect. If you have any questions, reach out to the Facebook event or Slack community.

So how does it all work?

The CodeJam is hosted online through HackerRank. You can code in virtually any language (see competition environment). Once you’ve written your code, it’s executed online against a number of test cases.

Tests will cover basic scenarios as well as larger and more complex cases, to ensure your algorithm is efficient and reliable. Points are awarded for the number of tests you pass and the question’s difficulty.

There will be a leaderboard of competitors based on points scored. The top scorers will get prizes!

How can I get ready?

You will need a HackerRank account to compete, sign up here. You don’t need to do special practice or preparation, just come well-rested and ready to think!

To get familiar with the HackerRank interface and styles of questions, you can try some practice questions on HackerRank.

What do I do on the day?

The CodeJam will run from 10am – 3:30pm on Saturday 28th March. You can join in anytime but the more time you spend, the better your chances of winning prizes!

We’ll post updates and reminders throughout the day on our Slack chat. Presentations and prizes will be live streamed on our YouTube, at the start and end of the day. The actual coding competition will be hosted on HackerRank.

Prizes!

We have prizes for best overall and the top first-year, sponsored by Atlassian.

1st place overall$150 JB Hi-Fi gift voucher
2nd place overall$100 JB Hi-Fi gift voucher
3rd place overall$60 JB Hi-Fi gift voucher
Top first-year$120 JB Hi-Fi gift voucher

Limit of one prize per person. To be eligible for prizes, you must be a current university student and registered on the HackerRank contest.

You are considered a first-year if you have not completed CSSE2310, or any course at level 3 or higher with the course code COMP, COMS, COSC, CSSE, DECO or INFS (or any equivalent courses at another university). You also cannot have worked as a software developer or in a related internship, at the discretion of the committee.