National Olympiad in Informatics

FOUR Singaporean students returned triumphant from an international problem-solving competition yesterday, having bagged three medals for their country.

They were among 198 participants from 48 countries who took part in the two-day International Olympiad in Informatics in Stockholm, Sweden last week.

Each day, they were given five hours to solve three problems on a computer. The problems they tackled included finding a way to maximise room space in a building by knocking down the minimum number of walls.

Sixteen gold, 33 silver, and 51 bronze medals were handed out at the competition.

Raffles Junior College student Koh Beng Liang , 17, who won the silver medal, found the experience challenging. Describing the appeal of informatics, he said: "It's like creating a creature. You create a set of codes which tell the computer what to do. You feed it data and it spits out the answers. If it works, it's very satisfying."

The Singapore team members also became close friends during their week-long trip.

To unwind, they played mahjong "in the hotel, in the lobby, on the bus, on the plane and in transit", said Goh Hock Meng , 18, also from RJC, who received a bronze medal.

The other two participants in the team were Raffles Institution student Yeo Chuo Hao , 15, and Hwa Chong Junior College student Chai Kian Ming , 17, the other bronze medallist.

Asked how he felt about his medal, Beng Liang said: "It's an honour representing the country. But getting the silver medal means I now know my place in the world."

Pointing to an imaginary list, he said: "I'm here and there's this many people above me and these people below me."

The Straits Times
Tuesday, July 12, 1994

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