The Faculty of Science at BAU Debbieh Campus hosted the Lebanese Collegiate Programming Competition (LCPC) under the patronage of the Minister of Telecommunications, Mr. Mohammad Choucair, represented by the General Director of the Ministry, Mr. Bassel Al Ayoubi, on October 4, 2019. The competition is the first stage of three stages held annually, followed by the second stage at the regional Arab African (ACPC) level, and then the third stage, which is the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC), held this year in Moscow. Organized since 2009, this competition aims to raise students' competence in programming and problem solving, as well as attract companies seeking to employ competitors in the field of Programming.
LAU and AUB teams won first and second place and BAU won sixth place, out of thirty-seven teams from different Lebanese universities, and third place at the level of Lebanese universities. Two computer science teams from the Faculty of Science were qualified to participate in the Africa and Arab Collegiate Programming Championship (ACPC), which took place at the end of November in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Thirty-seven teams from eleven various Lebanese universities competed for two days to solve a set of problems. Seven teams including two computer science teams from BAU won the Africa and Arab Collegiate Programming Championship (ACPC). The competition commenced with the Lebanese national anthem, the University anthem, and a documentary about the University was presented. Furthermore, Prof. Mohammad Abdulrahim, head of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department at BAU, welcomed and addressed the audience about the aim of the competition and its importance. Then, the Dean of the Faculty of Science, Prof. Ramadan Awad, delivered a speech saying, “The competition aims to encourage creativity, teamwork and innovation in the field of informatics, where students test their ability to perform under pressure and provide work opportunities for themselves.”
BAU President, Prof. Amr Galal Al-Adawi, also addressed in his speech saying, “the international competition between students from different Lebanese universities showcases their intellectual skills in the fields of mathematics and informatics", and the president called for “strengthening cooperation between universities to hold activities and competitions that reflect the image of a brilliant generation fortified with knowledge, science and technology; especially in the field of informatics, which has established its place among the rest of science in our contemporary age."
Moreover, the General Director of the Ministry of Telecommunications, Mr. Bassel Al Ayoubi, addressed students stating, “Lebanon is proud of your skills. You are the promising future of Lebanon. Look for work in your country because it needs you and your qualifications, and believe in finding jobs within its institutions and companies, even if Lebanon is going through difficult times. However, rest assured that at the head of the Lebanese government, a president who cares for your future and strives with all his might to secure a prosperous future for the youth. And proof of this lies in the continuous work the Telecommunications sector provides in advanced services and its work on securing stable infrastructure to install the Fiber Optics network.”
Then the competition sponsors, Prof. Faisal Abu-Khuzam, Chairman of the LCPC Competition Committee in Lebanon, Dr. Ziad Najem, CEO of KFAS Academy, and Dr. Tarek Barakat, Advisor to the President of the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport in Egypt, delivered respective speeches.
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