The Department of Computer Engineering of the University of Peradeniya has developed over time to the point where it is today, delivering one of the most esteemed Computer Engineering degree programmes in Sri Lanka. The Association of Computer Engineering Students (ACES), the official student organization of the Department, guides undergraduate students through many initiatives, such as the ACES Hackathon, ACES Coders, Spark, and Nenathambara, which help them build their soft skills while bridging the gap between academia, industry, and schools.

In the series of achievements, the day to witness the significant milestones of two remarkable programmes, ACES Coders v9.0, the island’s largest competitive programming challenge, and the distribution ceremony of Arduino kits for the worthwhile Project Nenathambara, arrived on the 17th of December 2022.

After giving a brief introduction about the rules and regulations of the competition, competitors headed to their respective desks in Drawing Office 1 of the University of Peradeniya for their 12-hour coding mission. The competitors were expected to use their logical thinking and programming skills to come up with solutions to the competition’s realistic problems, which were conducted through the Hackerank platform. With the refreshments offered, all the teams worked all night long on coding energetically with a single goal in mind. However, the scoreboard rapidly changed, showing how extremely competitive the teams were. Moreover, it enhances the participants’ ability to work in a team and manage their time well because they must compete in the competition as a team within the allotted time frame.

Finally, the ACES Coders v9.0 winners were announced and received cash prizes, and other participants who took part received certificates recognising their participation. After a 12-hour sleepless coding marathon and a lot of effort, Team BitFlippers from the University of Peradeniya took first place out of over 100 teams. Team BitLasagna from the University of Peradeniya were the runners-up, while Team DragonCoders from the University of Moratuwa became the second runners-up in this competition.

Mr Ruchika Perera, Secretary of the Hackers’ Club at the University of Peradeniya, gave the closing remarks to the event, thanking all the helping hands behind the achievement. Giving school children exposure to the world of coding helps them to broaden and realign their perspective, and recognising events like ACES Coders can undoubtedly encourage young souls to explore the limitless opportunities of university life.

The event was indeed a tremendous success, and all of this was made possible by the support provided in the form of sponsorship. This year, the competition was sponsored by Synopsys Sri Lanka (Platinum sponsor), Bitzify (Gold sponsor), GTN Technologies (Event Partner), Avtra (Silver sponsor), Clouda Inc. (Startup Partner), The Software Practice, Acentura, and Zincat (Supporting Partners), and Arteculate and Gauge (Media Partners). Speaking on behalf of the sponsors, Mr V. Kathircamalan from Synopsys addressed the audience, and Mr Farazy Fahmy, the director of research and development at Synopsys, mentioned the value of education and how responsible we should be to take care of the people who paid for it. Furthermore, souvenirs were given out to appreciate the sponsors for their enormous support.