Samsung Electronics has announced the winners of the "11th Samsung Collegiate Programming Challenge (SCPC)." The competition, which began in June, concluded with an awards ceremony on August 29 following two online preliminary rounds and an on-site final.

Launched in 2015 by Samsung Electronics, SCPC stands as Korea’s largest programming competition, with approximately 40,000 participants to date. Open to all university and graduate students interested in programming, the event aims to expand the software ecosystem and discover outstanding talent.

This year, Samsung Electronics introduced the new "AI Challenge" category, aimed at discovering outstanding talent with AI development capabilities. The competition was held across two categories—the "AI Challenge" and the existing "Software Algorithm Challenge"—with 10 and 18 winners selected from each, respectively.

28 Winners Announced Across Two Categories, Receiving Prize Money and Recruitment Benefits

In the "AI Challenge" category, first place was secured by Yoo Kyung Youn from Korea University, while second place was awarded to Keon Do Park from Seoul National University and Jung Myung Wi from Korea University.

In the "Software Algorithm Challenge," Jaehyun Koo of MIT claimed first place after seven competition attempts, while Dong Hyeon Lee and Young Uk Jo from Seoul National University won second place.

The First "AI Challenge" Demands Practical AI Problem-Solving Skills for Industrial Applications

In this year’s newly introduced "AI Challenge," participants developed lightweight AI models focused on multimodal AI that understands various everyday photos stored in users’ smartphone galleries during the six-week preliminary round. In the final round, they presented their presented their approaches, including data utilization methods, model design, performance evaluation, and optimization strategies, followed by question-and-answer sessions.

In particular, SCPC’s "AI Challenge" distinguished itself from existing AI competitions by providing participants with opportunities to demonstrate full spectrum of AI skills required in real-world settings through multidimensional evaluation of their AI development competencies across preliminary and final rounds.

Professor Gunhee Kim from Seoul National University’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering, who served as an advisor for the "AI Challenge," stated, "This year’s ‘AI Challenge’ featured problems reflecting Samsung’s AI research directions, allowing participants to indirectly experience the capabilities required in industry," adding, "If such distinctive problem formulation is maintained, SCPC will establish itself as an attractive platform for participants and evolve into a venue for discovering and nurturing future AI talent."

11-Year Tradition of the "Software Algorithm Challenge" Showcasing Programming Skills Through Diverse Problems

On August 29, students who advanced through the "Software Algorithm Challenge" preliminaries competed in the on-site finals by solving various algorithmic problems.

This year’s competition featured creative, practical problems, including an "Earthquake Response System" problem that required configuring a central server to reliably transmit accurate city codes during earthquake events.

Professor Sung Ryul Kim from Konkuk University, who was responsible for SCPC problem formulation this year following last year, commented: "It was wonderful to feel the excitement of an on-site competition again after such a long time since COVID-19," adding, "Although challenging problems are presented every year, witnessing university talents brilliantly solving them has once again given me confidence that the future of Korea’s software industry is bright."

SCPC: 40,000 Challengers, 393 Winners at SCPC—Fostering the Next Generation of Technology Leaders

Since 2015, approximately 40,000 university students have participated in SCPC, with 393 recognized as award winners, underscoring its role in developing outstanding software talent.

Kangtae Kim, Samsung Research’s Executive Vice President and Head of the R&D Strategy Team, stated at the awards ceremony, "We hope that through the 2025 SCPC, more university students will demonstrate their capabilities in programming and AI fields and grow into future technology leaders."

With this year’s expanded SCPC operation, Samsung Electronics plans to actively discover creative and innovative university talent in AI and software algorithms, supporting their growth into future technology leaders. Furthermore, the company will continue efforts to enhance global competitiveness in AI and software.

Meanwhile, the "AI Challenge" problems can be found on the DACON website, while the "Software Algorithm Challenge" problems are available on Codeground.