It’s been several days since I last updated the blog. Today all the events in Beijing have wrapped up, so let me look back at what happened a few days ago.
Before this I was busy with classes and preparing for the competition. I got through the campus round and qualified for Beijing, which was my goal. The competition is mainly based on Certiport’s IC3 certification exam, so I also earned an IC3-GS4 certificate, though it isn’t really useful even though many universities worldwide recognize it.
The lodging was fine — the Jinhui International Business Hotel, a four-star place arranged by the organizing committee. The school covered lodging and travel, so it was basically a trip to Beijing.
I had only meant to come to Beijing for the trip, so I didn’t study the question bank much and expected to be eliminated in the first round. Of course, most schools stop at this stage, but unexpectedly I wasn’t eliminated, so I advanced to the second round — the cross-strait competition — and competed alongside friends from Taiwan.
As for the result, I’ll only know at tomorrow’s award ceremony. But it’s definitely first prize; whether it’s the grand prize depends on tomorrow. I don’t think I have much of a chance at that, honestly.
At the opening ceremony I also met Professor Tan Haoqiang. The first programming book I bought was written by him, and he influenced a whole generation. Wherever Professor Tan went, people crowded around him like he was a celebrity.