CCS Award Ceremony for the Student Informatics Competitions

With increased participation of girls and significant progress towards the target for more women in technology

The Award Ceremony for the winners of the Student Computer Science Competitions, organised by the Cyprus Computer Society (CCS), was successfully held on Wednesday 24 April 2024, at the Siakoleio Educational Centre, in Nicosia. At the event, the students who excelled in the Cyprus Olympiad in Informatics 2023 and the Bebras Computational Thinking Competition Cyprus 23-24 were awarded.

The event was greeted by the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth (YPAN) Dr Athina Michaelidou, whose speech was delivered by Mr Socrates Mylonas, Inspector of Secondary Education in the field of Computer Science. In her speech, the Minister underlined the importance of IT in education, while the President of CCS, Mr. Costas Agrotis, noted with great pleasure the significant increase in the participation of girls in student IT competitions. "This upward trend is in line with our goal of increasing the presence of women in the technology sector."

On behalf of the Cyprus Association of Computer Science Teachers (CACST), co-organizer of the Bebras competition, Mr. Petros Yias spoke, and on behalf of Oracle, the sponsor of the Olympiad, Mr. Anthony Scoulos, Managing Director of Oracle Cyprus & Technology Leader Greece Cyprus Malta, addressed the audience. The event was attended by officials from the ministry, school representatives, teachers, parents, and the students who were honored, from 4th Primary to 3rd Lyceum.

At the event, the 12 students who deservedly represented Cyprus at the 2023 International Olympiads in Informatics first awarded. The students had an excellent presence in these events, securing medals for our country.  Subsequently, 15 students from each class (4th Primary School - 3rd High School) who excelled in BEBRAS 23-24 competition were awarded.  Also, the schools and teachers with numerous entries were awarded for their contribution to the success of the Bebras event.

In conclusion, representatives of CCS proposed participation in the upcoming relevant activities of the Association, including the ongoing CCSC Cybersecurity Competition and the upcoming robotics competitions Robotex, MRC, and WRO. For more information on all activities and competitions related to digital skills, programming, robotics, and technology, visit the CCS website at www.ccs.org.cy .