The four-member South African team won two bronze medals and an honourable mention at the 36th International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI 2024) – the most prestigious computer science competition for secondary school and high school students around the world.
Bronze medals were awarded to Minkyum Kim of Reddam House Durbanville and Hugo Bruwer of Paarl Boys’ High, while Youkyum Kim, also of Reddam House, received an honourable mention.
The South African team members were selected from the top performers in the 2023 Programming Olympiad – part of the South African Computer Olympiads and a flagship initiative of the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA).
Minkyum and Youkyum also represented South Africa at IOI 2023 in Hungary, while Minkyum also represented South Africa at IOI 2022 in Indonesia. Hugo Bruwer and Yian Xu of Redhill High represented South Africa for the first time this year.
IOI 2024 was staged in Alexandria, Egypt, from 1-8 September, and was hosted this year by the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT) and supported by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Ministry of Youth and Sports and Bibliotheca of Alexandria.
Benjamin Kleyn, a BSc Mathematics student and past IOI participant, was the team leader. He says: “Three-hundred-and-sixty-two contestants from 91 countries competed in various complex programming and problem-solving tasks during IOI. There were two contest days, and three tasks each worth 100 points per day. Contestants had five hours on each day to score points on the tasks. The top half of contestants received medals. Gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded in a 1:2:3 ratio. Honourable mentions were also awarded to those who placed in the top half on one of the days, but not overall. The overall winner of this year's IOI was Kangyang Zhou from China, who achieved a perfect score of 600/600.”
Kleyn says the team also enjoyed cultural activities, including an excursion to the beach, a tour of the Grand Egyptian Museum, and a view of the Pyramids and the Sphinx at the closing ceremony.
Kamohelo Motloung, IITPSA Education Officer and South African Computer Olympiads Manager, also accompanied the team. He notes that participation from Africa was limited. “Africa was identified as the least participating continent in IOI, and a special project is planned to get more countries from Africa to participate in future. The possibility of a continental contest for Africa was also discussed.”
Motloung adds that Kleyn was team leader for the first time this year. “He did an excellent job supporting the team, assisting them and making sure that everyone was ready for the contest,” he says.
Pearl Pasi, President of the IITPSA, congratulated the winners, noting that the Computer Olympiads offer South African learners opportunities to learn new skills and discover career opportunities in the IT sector. “Those who reach the IOI have a unique and enriching opportunity to travel and participate in a global event, where they can challenge themselves and engage with their peers from around the world,” she says. “We thank our sponsors for helping make these experiences possible for young South Africans.”
Marilyn Moodley, Country Leader South Africa and WECA at SoftwareOne, congratulated the team on their outstanding achievements, stating that their hard work, dedication and teamwork truly paid off, and set a sterling example to us all.
Jane Street was the headline sponsor of the IITPSA Computer Programming Olympiad and of the South African IOI Team 2024, and SoftwareOne is a gold sponsor of the IITPSA Computer Olympiad activities this year.
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