NUS wins ICPC Regionals in Taiwan for the first time in history
NUS School of Computing (SoC) has achieved a historic milestone, clinching its first-ever victory at the ICPC Regionals in Taiwan – one of the most competitive arenas in the Asia-Pacific International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC).
Competing against 109 other teams, including some of the region’s strongest algorithmic programming teams from universities such as National Taiwan University, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, the University of Aizu, etc., the NUS SoC team Strong Zero delivered a commanding performance that placed them at the top of the standings after the contest ended.
For NUS, which has participated in ICPC for more than two decades, this marks the University’s first win at the Taiwan site, long regarded as a proving ground for some of the region’s strongest algorithmic problem-solving teams.
A team built on years of preparation
Strong Zero brings together three Olympiad gold medalists who now call NUS home:
- Yuto Watanabe (Japan) – IOI 2022 Gold, Huawei Olympiad Scholar, Year 3 Computer Science student, and ICPC World Finalist in 2025
- Ashley Aragorn Khoo (Singapore) – International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) 2021 & 2022 Gold, NUS Global Merit Scholar
- Tan Si Jie (Singapore) – IOI 2021 Gold, SEA Olympiad Scholar
ICPC contests are famously demanding: three students share a single computer for five hours, solving challenging algorithmic problems under intense time pressure. In Taichung, Strong Zero found their rhythm early. They tackled several of the harder tasks quickly, built an early lead, and maintained their advantage even as top regional teams mounted strong challenges in the later stages.
The team eventually solved 13 problems, including being the only team in the contest to solve one of the hardest tasks, reinforcing their position at the top of the standings even before the scoreboard unfroze in the final hour.
A milestone five years in the making
While this victory belongs to the students, this moment is also the culmination of a multi-year effort to strengthen NUS’s ICPC and Olympiad talent pipeline.
Since hosting the IOI in 2020 and 2021, NUS has made sustained investments in attracting and nurturing top global talent in competitive programming. This includes scholarship pathways, advanced coaching, and year-round training supported by the Centre for Nurturing Computing Excellence (CeNCE).
Associate Professor Steven Halim, who represented NUS Computing as an ICPC contestant from 2001-2004 and has served as a coach since 2008, notes that NUS has rarely sent teams to the Taiwan site due to the strength of the field — and had never won there until now. Strong Zero’s performance marks a significant step forward for the programme and a meaningful validation of this long-term strategy.
Acknowledgements
Strong Zero’s achievement reflects the ecosystem that has taken shape around competitive programming at NUS. This includes the scholarship pathways that bring Olympiad talents to our community: the Huawei Olympiad Scholarship supporting Yuto Watanabe, the SEA Olympiad Scholarship supporting Tan Si Jie, and the NUS Global Merit Scholarship awarded to Ashley Aragorn Khoo.
The programme has also benefited greatly from the leadership of Associate Professor Tan Sun Teck, Director of IOI 2020 and 2021, whose efforts were central to establishing both the Huawei and SEA Olympiad Scholarships. Associate Professor Ben Leong has likewise played a key role in strengthening the Sea Group partnership and supporting the development of the Olympiad pipeline.
NUS also recognises the long-standing partnership of the School’s CeNCE supporters — Jane Street, Hudson River Trading, Jump Trading, Optiver, Virtu Financial, Citadel | Citadel Securities, and Presto Labs — whose commitment continues to nurture competitive programming excellence across the region.
Strong Zero’s performance in Taichung marks an important step forward for NUS’s competitive programming community. It reflects the strength of our students, the quality of coaching behind them, and the long-term commitment to building a pipeline that supports young talent. It is a milestone for the team, and a meaningful moment for the School — a reminder of what sustained effort and the right environment can enable.
