Coding with a Community: The Algorithm of the Davis Competitive Programming Club
Members of the University of California, Davis Competitive Programming Club will travel to the University of Central Florida in May for the 2025 International Collegiate Programming Contest North American Championship.
The competition, or ICPC NAC, is a team-based programming tournament for university students all over North America. The contest gives teams five hours to answer industry-level programming questions. For example, you are applying for citizenship in a country that requires you to live there for a year before applying for citizenship, but you’ve traveled a lot and don’t know if you meet the requirements. Given a set number of parameters, the competitors must write a program that finds the earliest date a citizenship application can be submitted.
UC Davis placed in the top four schools in the Pacific Northwest Regional Contest in November, along with Stanford, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of British Columbia. UC Davis will have to face other top universities in the country and from Canada, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“I was really surprised I was a part of the team that made it,” said Reina Itakura, a third-year computer science undergraduate student and primary leader of the Davis Competitive Programming Club, or DCPC. “I really enjoy the motivation [the club] gives me because, on my own, I probably wouldn’t be motivated to get better.”
A Place for Programmers
DCPC is a space for programmers to work on coding problems and strengthen their algorithmic skills, as well as represent UC Davis in competitions. The club — established in 2022 by Theodore Pan, who completed his Bachelor of Science and is now pursuing his Ph.D. in computer science at UC Davis — offers the chance to practice programming in a collaborative and challenging environment, providing an experience unique to classroom learning.
“The club really teaches you how to problem solve, whereas classes might teach you a theory to memorize and regurgitate on a test,” said Jason Feng, a fourth-year transfer student studying computer science and engineering and the secondary leader of the club. He and Itakura are on the competing team, along with Jack Yiu Lok Xiang, a second-year computer science undergraduate student.
When joining the club, Itakura and Feng both sought a place to enhance their skills with other programming peers: Itakura wanted to continue pursuing competitive programming after competing in the USA Computing Olympiad, or USACO, in high school, and Feng attempted to make his own competitive programming club online while in community college after being introduced by a former ICPC world finalist.
Although Itakura and Feng joined DCPC with a computing background, students of all levels of coding are welcomed even if they haven’t touched a programming language.
“We’ll teach you. Even if you’re a beginner or if you’re advanced, it doesn’t matter,” said Itakura.
“We’re all just trying to get better, helping each other improve,” added Feng.
Attendees can expect two types of club meetings: problem set practice days and lectures teaching different data algorithms, like dynamic programming, max flow, and Fenwick or segment trees. These meetings prioritize developing fast-paced thinking and a problem-solving mindset. Club members can also get extra practice by using the website Codeforces.
To prepare for the ICPC NAC competition, the club will practice, practice and practice under the tutelage of Assistant Professor of Computer Science Slobodan Mitrović, the team’s coach. Itakura and Feng describe Professor Mitrović’s coaching as attentive and accommodating. He understands each student’s individual needs and provides tailored guidance, ensuring everyone gets the most out of the club.
DCPC will host an Aggie Competitive Programming Contest in April, where people of all ages and skill levels in the Davis area are invited to code. Competitors should expect prizes, food, and a chance to be joined by fellow coders. This local contest is an opportunity to showcase and engage in the supportive energy of DCPC.
“Having this community is amazing,” said Feng. “It’s very nice to be surrounded by this like-minded community of big nerds who just like to solve puzzles for fun.”