On February 2, 2024, 22 IT and technology enthusiasts aged 13 – 15 met again after a year in the premises of the FUTURUM gymnasium in order to compare their knowledge in programming and working with micro:bits
23. February 2024
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Reading time: 3 min.
Micro:bit is a programmable microcomputer, and students can try their hand at programming in different languages such as javascript, python and C++. The device also has programmable buttons, input and output ports, a sensor to measure heat and light intensity, and thanks to this equipment, micro:bits can also be used to program various devices.
The micro:bit is not new and these microcomputers were developed in 2016 by the BBC to support the teaching of programming in computer science classes in the UK. The project was a great success, with 90% of students stating that anyone can learn to program.
The great added value of the competition is not only working with micro:bits, but also the fact that it is a team competition, so not only does each team have to grapple with the challenges, but also the individuals in the team have to work together to come up with solutions. In this way, the participants of the competition are also practicing the so-called soft skills, which are very important in today’s world, but unfortunately are often neglected in the educational process.
I am very glad that we have managed to organize the second round of this competition, because interest in the IT sector should be aroused already in primary school pupils. IT offers endless opportunities to engage creativity and children’s imagination, as children can program their own mini car or even a dancing robot using micro:bits. IT is not boring, and this is especially what children need to take away from the competition day.
Matúš Čopík, Senior Vice President CANCOM Slovakia
The official start was scheduled for 9:00, but the first participants with good mood and smile on their lips appeared in the premises of the gymnasium after 8:30. Everything was well prepared and the registration of all schools took only a few minutes. Immediately after the registration was completed, the participants were welcomed at the gymnasium by Jana Kolarovičová, PhDr. Jana Kolarovičová, MBA, the school director and Matúš Čopík, Senior Vice President of CANCOM. There was no time for any long speeches, as the first part of the competition was in the form of a practical 60-minute workshop, where the computer science teachers gave basic instructions and tested the students’ knowledge of computer science through simple and interactive tasks.
When we started preparing the competition, we did not initially plan to organize a workshop, but the composition of the competitors was more diverse than last year, as we had other schools signing up. We simply wanted to test the readiness of the competitors, but as last year, we were very pleasantly surprised as there was no problem with the practice problems.
Andrea Hricová, Zástupkyňa riaditeľa školy FUTURUM
The overall course of the competition was divided into two 60-minute blocks, in which individual teams worked on 3 tasks of varying difficulty. In the first task, the competitors solved a simple drawing of random points and lines according to the given conditions. The second task was a bit more difficult as it involved cyclical drawing and erasing of LED points according to a pattern. Thus, the complexity of each task gradually increased and the overall team ranking was determined only by the legendary Packman game focused on communication between 2 micro:bits, as the contestants had to program the micro:bits to chase each other. The contestants also had the opportunity to earn bonus points for time, so no team could be sure of their victory until the end of the competition. The competition programme was also enriched by a joint lunch at the premises of UPJŠ, which has its Faculty of Arts next to the gymnasium.
“The fact that the pupils went to lunch at the UPJŠ made me very happy. I am also a graduate of this university and I personally think that it is necessary to show the pupils that we also have good and nice universities here in Košice and there is no need to go abroad for education,” adds Matúš Čopík, Senior Vice President of CANCOM, with a smile.
At 15:00 all the competitors met again for the evaluation, where they found out how they coped with the tasks. The third place went to the team from the Park Angelinum 8 Primary School composed of Adam Kačmáry, Matej Pavlovič and Ján Pleva. Second place went to the team from Drábova Elementary School composed of Andrej Revák and Alex Bega. The overall winner of the competition was the team from Krosnianska 4 Elementary School composed of František Krč and Kristofer Noel Rjabinčák. Congratulations to all the winning teams and we look forward to meeting all the participants of the competition.
Even though the year is coming to an end, we at CANCOM definitely haven’t slowed down. We’ve managed to organize a high school visit, hold our regular company-wide meeting, organize an internal hackathon together with our German colleagues, and still find time for a discussion about our work.
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