Thanks to Carol Muller and MentorNet for alerting me to this nifty competition! Spread the word! Participants in the U.S. must be 18 or older (I'm not sure what the age of majority is in Canada), enrolled in a university program, U.S. or Canadian residents. The competition is sponsored by Symantec and coincides with National Engineers Week. First prize is $10k! More detalis below.
CUPERTINO, Calif. - Feb. 7, 2006 - Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today
announced its first university programming competition aimed at encouraging
creativity and innovation in software engineering. Symantec's Programming
Competition begins Feb. 22, 2006, and ends March 1, 2006.
The competition is open to applicants who are enrolled in a university
program in the United States or Canada, are residents of the United States
or Canada (excluding the province of Quebec), and have reached the age of
majority in their state or province of residence. Competitors have one week
to program an artificial life-form that must survive and thrive in a virtual
world. The software model upon which the competition is based will work on
a variety of platforms, enabling students to compete regardless of their
computer type. Entrants do not need to have knowledge of a specific
programming language to participate in the competition. Students will
develop their programs in a simple, specially designed programming language,
offering entrants with even introductory programming knowledge the
opportunity to participate.
...
The competition coincides with National Engineers Week 2006. To build
interest and excitement around the competition and about software
engineering, Symantec is partnering with the National Engineers Week
Foundation, a formal coalition of more than 70 engineering, education, and
cultural societies and more than 50 corporations and government agencies
dedicated to raising public awareness of engineers' positive contributions
to our quality of life. An annual event, National Engineers Week includes a
series of programs that promote recognition among parents, teachers, and
students of the importance of a technical education and a high level of
math, science, and technology literacy and that motivate young people to
pursue engineering careers.
...
All eligible entrants will have their submission judged in an identical,
automated fashion to ensure that each entrant is on equal footing. No human
or subjective judging will take place and the top three entrants will win
cash prizes. Symantec employees and contractors and their relatives are
ineligible.
The entrant who builds the most efficient and robust virtual organism will
win the competition. The first place will receive US $10,000 cash; the
second place will receive US $5,000 cash; and the third place will receive
US $3,000 cash. All three entrants will win a trip to Symantec's Mountain
View, Calif., office to meet with Mark Bregman, Symantec chief technology
officer, and Carey Nachenberg, Symantec fellow and chief architect with
Symantec Research Labs.
For information, eligibility requirements, and the official rules regarding
Symantec's Programming Competition, please visit this site. Applicants must submit their
entry via email; competition materials, judging criteria, and complete
submission instructions will be available here beginning on Feb. 22, 2006, at
noon Pacific Standard Time. All entries must be received by noon Pacific
Standard Time on March 1, 2006. Only one submission per individual entrant
is permitted and team entries will not be accepted.
2:17:28 PM 
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