Workshops 2024/25

Samuel at workshops

Learn everything you need to know for the qualification round at our workshops

Register now! (The registration link is at the bottom of this page, but please take your time to read through it first.)

We invite you to our workshops to get started with algorithms and competitive programming. You should have some basic programming knowledge, solve the pre-round to see what we expect. Other than that, no prior knowledge is required, though being good at maths can be an advantage. Participating at the workshops is free and we even reimburse your train tickets (see FAQ below).

You can attend up to two workshops. They will cover different topics and they don’t build upon each other, so you can attend any two of them.

This year we will carry out the workshops in two separate tracks: Beginner and Advanced. In the Beginner track the focus will be on getting you started with algorithms and competitive programming. In the Advanced track the focus will be on slightly more advanced algorithms used in the qualification round.

Coding at our workshops

Dates

  • 12.10. Zurich and Lausanne
  • 19.10. Zurich and Lausanne
  • 2.11. Bern

During all of these workshops, you can talk to us in German, French or English. The tasks will be available in all three languages. Even if you are not so fluent in, say, French and attend a French workshop, you probably will be able to follow most of it just fine.

Daniel at the Workshops

Preparation

You will need to have scored at least 400 points in the pre-round before you can sign up. During the workshop we will be using C++, but you can solve the pre-round in any language you like.

If you are completely new and want to get started as fast as possible, we recommend that you refer to the training page.

Registration

Interested? Then please fill in the registration form:



The number of spots is limited and we will consider registrations by order of registration date. Note that the workshop is targeted at beginners, participants who have attended the SOI camp in Sarnen in the past are not eligible for participation.

For questions ask us on info@soi.ch.

We are looking forward to seeing you!

FAQ

Q: I am already very experienced in programming, does it make sense to attend?
A: Definitely. Don’t worry, there are a lot of tricky tasks and we are sure you will learn something new.
Q: I have just started programming, will it be too hard?
A: The beginners track is intended to help people with little experience to get up to speed quickly. For most of the tasks, you don’t need very complex programming patterns.
Q: Is the content available online somewhere?
A: For the theory, you can read our Wiki. We will publish most of the task set of the workshops late September. The lectures recorded for the online lectures are available outside the online lectures as well.
Joel at the workshops
Q: Does it make sense to come to the workshops if I can read up everything online?
A: Of course! You have the unique opportunity to:
  • meet like-minded people from all over Switzerland,
  • learn those topics from experts and let them help you debug your code and
  • enjoy a friendly but competitive atmosphere.

Besides the lectures and tons of time for coding and solving problems, we will also have some quizzes and card games.

Q: What do I have to pay?
A: Nothing! We reimburse the train tickets (up to half-tax fare) and provide you with food. We are able to do this because we (mostly students) organize SOI in our free time, and our partners cover the expenses.