60,948
students
competed this contest year
About ICPC
Where university teams learn to solve the hardest problems.
The International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) is the world’s leading university programming competition. It brings students together to think deeply, write reliable code and solve difficult problems as a team.
What is ICPC?
More than a programming contest.
ICPC challenges teams to turn ideas into working solutions under real time pressure. It is a place where algorithms, communication, persistence and trust matter as much as technical knowledge.
For students, it is a rare opportunity to measure themselves against ambitious peers, build habits of rigorous thinking and enter a global community of problem-solvers. For universities and the country, it is a way to discover and develop the people who will build the next generation of technology.
ICPC by the numbers
A worldwide classroom.
35,480
teams
across ICPC activities
3,148
academic institutions
represented worldwide
103
countries
in the 2026 contest year
Contest format
Three people.
One computer.
Five hours.
01
A university team
Each team represents its university and consists of three students working together at one computer.
02
Algorithmic problems
Teams receive a set of challenging problems. They design algorithms, implement solutions and submit them to an automated judging system.
03
Scoreboard logic
The goal is to solve the most problems. Time and incorrect attempts affect penalty, so clear decisions and calm execution matter.
ICPC Uzbekistan
A national championship with a world horizon.
ICPC Uzbekistan is the national championship for university programming teams. It brings together students from every region and gives the country’s strongest teams a stage to compete.
The best teams advance to the Northern Eurasia semifinal. A strong result there opens the route to the ICPC World Finals, where the best university teams in the world compete for the championship.
The journey
01
Qualification
Teams from universities across Uzbekistan begin the season through the national qualification round.
02
Uzbekistan Championship
The strongest teams meet in the ICPC Uzbekistan Quarterfinal — the national contest where the next representatives are decided.
03
Northern Eurasia semifinal
The Northern Eurasia Finals unite universities from 10 countries. The 2025 field had 335 teams from 163 universities; the World Finals allocation changes each season — 17 NERC teams competed at World Finals 2025.
04
ICPC World Finals
The best university teams from around the world meet at the World Finals — the highest stage of the ICPC season.