CSIDC-challenges and choices [computing competitions]

In 1999 the IEEE Computer Society ran its first International Design Competition, called CSIDC (Computer Society International Design Competition). Typical computing competitions give individual students a problem and expect the contestants to solve them in a few hours. A group of Computer Society members got together to design a new student competition that better reflects the activities students will perform when they graduate. The Computer Society International Design Competition is unusual because it stresses team activity over a relatively long four-month period. All teams taking part in the first CSIDC were given a project kit consisting of hardware and software. Teams had to use this kit to specify, design, construct, document, and test an Internet-based system over a four-month period. The first year of CSIDC was a success and ten teams of students from eight countries took part in the World Finals in Washington, DC. This paper discusses the philosophy of the CSIDC competition, its use of state-of-the-art technology, the provision of a "level-playing field" for all teams, and the mechanisms adopted to provide a fair distribution of competing teams from around the world. However, CSIDC is a very complex and expensive competition to stage. We also look at the feedback from the first cohort of participants and discuss some of the problems the competition faces in terms of its scalability.