Future is no problem for IT

Student programmers from Canada have won the ACM International Collegiate Programming World Finals in Eindhoven, Holland. Teams were given eight problems and told to solve six of them in five hours. Five achieved the six-problem target, but the University of Waterloo team picked up fewest penalty points.

Of 1,457 teams from six continents, 62 made it to the finals. Eastern Europe provided ten of Europe's 13 finalist teams, Germany two and Holland one. Only eight of 186 contestants were women. Contest sponsors IBM recently polled IT students worldwide on their job preferences and attitudes.

The survey found that students go into IT because they love the work and are uninterested in money, even though in the United States many expect to be earning $100,000 (Pounds 62,000) within a few years.

Problems and full results: www.acm.org