Russian students take prizes at international programming competition

A group of Russian students has celebrated their success at an international programming competition by meeting Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who congratulated them on their victory.

The young people are the best programming students in Russia and among the best in the world. They made it to the top-ten of an international competition in Tokyo; more than 6,000 teams from 82 countries took part in it. The students took five medals out of 12 – one gold, two silver and two bronze.

“Your win shows that our students and educational standards have great potential,” said Mr Medvedev. 

Taking part in an international competition is a considerable challenge that takes much time and energy.  One student missed an important university debate to take part. He asked Dmitry Medvedev to sign a card for his teacher, saying he hoped it would help him to pass the exam.

Numerous programming graduates find employment abroad but now Dmitry Medvedev says that the Russian information services market is growing rapidly and looks very promising for the future. 

Now the government is encouraging young people to take up careers in computers through its Federal Education Programme. More than half of schools in Russia have got internet access, and by 2008 all Russian scholars will be able to surf the web.