Middle and high school students from across New Brunswick put their computer programming skills to the test at two annual competitions hosted by the UNB Saint John campus.
“As a leader in computer science, UNB is proud to have hosted these events again this year,” says Ruth Shaw, professor of computer science at UNB Saint John and co-ordinator of both events. “Computer programming skills are vital in our rapidly changing economy and the skills these young students are developing now will continue to serve them throughout their educational and professional careers.”
The 11th annual New Brunswick high school programming competition was held in May. Open to students in grades 9 through 12, the event was designed to encourage teamwork and consisted of several programming problems of increasing difficulty.
Members of the first place team received computers from J. D. Irving, Ltd. and the second place team received iPad minis from IGT, Moncton. Members of all top three teams received up to $1,000 each in bursaries towards their first-year tuition in computer science at UNB Saint John. All high school participants received $100 bursaries towards their first-year tuition at UNB Saint John in any four-year program offered by the faculty of science, applied science and engineering.
The fourth annual New Brunswick Scratch finals, for students in Grade 8 and under, was held in June. Scratch is a visual coding language that allows young students to create and develop their own interactive animations, stories, games and art.
This event was hosted in partnership with Brilliant Labs, an Atlantic Canadian non-profit organization promoting the integration of creativity, innovation, coding and an entrepreneurial spirit within classrooms and educational curricula.
“These events are a great opportunity for middle and high school students to experience life on the UNB Saint John campus, meet current faculty and students and learn more about the programs we offer,” says Christopher Baker, chair of computer science at UNB Saint John. “We hope that they will continue to explore their passion for computer science and programming as UNB students one day.”
