Digital Booklet

Foreword

Dear contestants, coaches and all other programming enthusiasts,

Welcome to NWERC 2024! We are very excited to have you here and we are looking forward to this fun-filled weekend. NWERC is hosted this year again in Delft at the Delft University of Technology. We hope that you not only have an amazing time at the contest, but that you will also get to know Delft a little bit.

On this page, you can find information, besides of course our fantastic programming contest, about Delft, the contest location, jury, systems and schedule of this weekend.

The CHipCie, a committee consisting of 13 very driven (ex-)students from the study association Christiaan Huygens, has been working very hard to make this weekend possible! From systems to logistics of the whole contest, everyone has tried to make it the best experience possible. But without the jury, this contest would not be possible. They did their absolute best to come up with the most interesting, challenging and fun problems for the contestants to solve!

We hope that you will have an amazing time this weekend! Good luck with the contest, but most important of all: have fun!

On behalf of the CHipCie,
Nadyne Aretz
Contest Director NWERC 2024

Welcome

Welcome to the city of technical expertise in the Netherlands: Delft! Here, many technical institutions have settled themselves such as TNO, Deltares and QuTech, among many others. Delft is a true student city with student life blooming in all corners of the city. The city of Delft also holds a rich history and dates back from as early as 1246!

Population

The university has some effects on the population in Delft. Did you know that the ratio of male residents between 20 and 30 year old in Delft is about twice as high as the national average? And for the age range 20–24 this is even as high as three times the national average!

Associations

Student life is very rich in Delft. Many students are part of a student association: social, sports, games, hobby associations. There is certainly an association for every occasion! All associations hold in common a social aspect of hosting fun events and bringing students closer together. Even NWERC 2024 is organised by members of the study association W.I.S.V. ‘Christiaan Huygens’!

Source: OnTheWorldMap

Systems

During the contest, the computer is your most valuable resource (perhaps apart from coffee). A brief explanation of our systems can be found on this page.

Hardware

Each team will have exactly one workstation. The only operating system available to you will be Ubuntu 24.04 with Xfce.

Software

The jury will run your submissions on the same system with the same compilers. During the contest, you will be able to choose between the languages C, C++, Python, Java, and Kotlin. Using different languages for different problems is allowed. For a complete list of available IDEs, editors, language versions and compiler commands, see 2024.nwerc.eu/systems.

During the contest

An introductory presentation on the systems will be given on Saturday, please refer to the schedule for the exact time. At this presentation, do not hesitate to ask any questions. Furthermore, if you stumble upon any problems with the system during the test session or contest, let us know and we will be more than happy to assist you.

Jury and Rules

We follow the World Finals’ Rules, so a team is allowed to bring 3 copies of their Team Reference Document, but not allowed to bring any additional reference materials such as books, program listings and notes! You may not bring any electronic device or machine-readable media (this includes but is not limited to cell phones, watches, digital cameras, and mp3 players). Teams are not allowed to replace the provided keyboard and mouse. You may bring pens or pencils, but not paper (these will be provided). Winter coats, bags, etc. should not be brought to the contest floor.

Each contestant may bring a copy of a Team Reference Document. This document may contain up to 25 pages of reference materials, single-sided, letter or A4 size, with pages numbered in the upper right-hand corner and your university name printed in the upper left-hand corner. Text and illustrations must be readable by a person with correctable eyesight without magnification from a distance of ½ meter. It may include handwritten comments and corrections on the fronts of pages only. The document should be in some type of notebook or folder with the name of your institution on the front.

Each team member may bring one printed, unannotated natural language dictionary. You may bring mascots such as stuffed toy animals or party hats (provided they do not violate any of the above constraints). If there is some other item your team needs at the contest, please contact the Head of Jury.

Team Reference Documents should be handed in at the registration. Mascots, snacks, and other items (see above) can be brought to the team’s table during the test session. These items should be left on the table after the test session and will be checked before the contest on Sunday. It is not allowed to bring anything with you to the contest floor on Sunday, with the exception of unmodified liquid containers (e.g. mugs, cups, bottles).

For advice from the jury, see: 2024.nwerc.eu/jury-advice.

Team Composition

A student may compete when eligible according to the official ICPC regional rules summarised in the 2024-25 ICPC Regionals Eligibility Diagram. A team consists of 3 eligible students. The educational institutions must be from one of the region’s member countries. By special request, teams from other countries may be allowed to participate in this region, as stated in the ICPC Regional Rules. All teams who want to participate must be registered.

Conduct during contest

The ICPC is an extra-curricular, competitive programming sport of the universities of the world. Good sportsmanship is a requirement. At NWERC, teams and coaches should not wear or bring anything that might distract from spotlighting any other team. At the contest, test session, opening ceremony and award ceremony require official NWERC shirts, do not bring anything with you other than smiles, goodwill, and teammates. Badges should be worn visibly at all times. The regional contest director is empowered to add additional restrictions and to correct inappropriate behavior.

Company profiles

WEBB Traders

WE ARE A LEADING MARKET MAKER.

WEBB Traders is a proprietary trading company aiming to redefine trading as a unified effort powered by a broader range of expertise and technology. We act as a market maker and we use our own capital to trade on global stock and derivatives exchanges. Since our first trade in 2009, we’ve developed a culture of openness, community, joy, and boundless entrepreneurship.

Looking to unleash your talent?

WEBB is continually growing and expanding into new markets. To keep up with this growth we are on the lookout for talented (junior) traders, researchers, engineers, and other experts to come join us. We realize that our strength is in our people so we give them the freedom to be who they are and empower them to be the best that they can be, both personally and professionally. Our company size allows us to have a flat hierarchy and transparency, where trust can thrive. So… if you are driven, a team player, you love a good challenge and you want to learn (a lot!) then we welcome you to apply for one of our openings.

• www.webbtraders.com
• www.linkedin.com/company/webb-traders

ASML

ASML is changing the world, one nanometer at a time! We’re a high-tech, Netherlands-based company manufacturing complex lithography systems that chipmakers use to produce integrated circuits – aka microchips.

Our machines help create the electronics you use in your daily life. In the past three decades, we have grown from a startup to a multinational company with over 60 locations globally and annual net sales of €21 billion in 2022.

Behind ASML’s innovation hides true talent. Our researchers, engineers, scientists and manufacturing specialists, as well as our high-tech hardware and software experts, make the impossible happen every day. We invest around €3.3 billion per year in R&D, giving our teams the freedom, support and resources to experiment, test and push the boundaries of technology. They work in close-knit, multidisciplinary teams, learning and growing along with the company.

If you want to be part of progress, visit asml.com/careers.

Northpool

Northpool is a commodity trading company, based in Leiden, the Netherlands. Northpool’s main focus lies with energy and weather-related commodities and is currently active on the power and gas markets. With the future going forward to an even more sustainable energy environment, anticipating the future energy trends for the coming years is imperative. With wind, sun and rain as ideal sustainable energy sources, the weather has become increasingly important in the energy markets. Variations in weather lead to volatility in the power market.

Northpool’s expertise is founded on three pillars, Fundamentals, Efficiency and Opportunities. First, Northpool has a strong knowledge on the fundamental drivers in the energy market. Second, Northpool uses data driven feeding trading strategies leading to a more efficient power market. The trading strategies are strongly driven the combination of market data and technological possibilities. Finally, Northpool is always seeking opportunities in the market.

At Northpool we have four trading desks: Intraday, short term, long term and algorithmic trading. We are always looking for graduates for these desks and want to start their career with us. Whether you aspire to a career as a trader, analyze situations in the market or like to build models, at Northpool we look for the best place for you in our organization.

Da Vinci

Da Vinci was founded in 2015 by three friends with significant experience and enthusiasm for trading and has been growing successfully ever since. We are a unique proprietary trading firm, focusing on volatility trading, arbitrage and market making across major exchanges worldwide. We identify opportunities, trade volatility based on in-house developed strategies and provide liquidity to the markets thus making them more efficient.

Our philosophy towards work is best captured by the saying “Be good, work hard and great things will happen”. We are meritocratic by nature and believe that empowering talent in our organization is the only way forward. As part of our team, you will build trading algorithms, implement new strategies in the market, analyze trades, continuously improve how we do things and come up with new innovative ideas to contribute to reaching our ambitious goals.

Mathrix

Mathrix is a leading algorithmic trading firm with fully automated operations, providing deep liquidity to the digital asset markets. Mathrix is one of the dominant players in the space, ranking at the top of CEX and expanding rapidly on DEX. To keep our leading position in this fast-moving space we rely on our bright and creative minds. Our flat organisation structure and cutting-edge technology enable us to execute new opportunities and ideas fast, while instant feedback from the markets allows us to constantly improve and push boundaries. Initiative and creativity are highly valued, and our highest priority is to facilitate you to shape your own future, and with that the future of Mathrix.

As one of the early movers we are committed to crypto native culture and the vibrant energy from the space, where in addition to dedication and high quality work there is also room to enjoy. Next to regular social activities outside of work, we have bars, game rooms, a massage therapist, gym subscriptions and other awesome facilities to create a comfortable and fun working environment.

Our solid foundation enables us to transform to a full-service Web 3.0 financial technology firm. Offering a variety of services to support token projects, protocol research and overall community development for efficient crypto markets by leveraging our current unique position in the market as well as 10 years of experience in digital asset markets.

We are expanding and looking for exceptional talent to join our team in Switzerland, the Netherlands or Singapore. Do you have any questions or would you like to know more about Mathrix? Please send us an email via recruitment@mathrix.com.

IMC Trading

No siloes. No hierarchies. Just great ideas. As a leading global market maker, IMC uses algorithmic trading and advanced technology to buy and sell securities on multiple trading venues worldwide.

Across Europe, the US, and Asia-Pacific, our technologists and traders collaborate to explore, design, and develop the software, hardware, advanced networks, and algorithms that drive our trading strategies and provide essential liquidity to financial markets.

Our enduring success is testament to the strength of our values. We fuse creative freedom, open feedback, and quick iteration to empower some of the world’s most talented people. We recognize the best ideas today – and collaborate across teams, borders, and time zones to make them even better tomorrow. And while we work hard, we have lots of fun doing it.

It’s a unique culture that sets us apart. As we like to say, there’s only one IMC.

Schedule

Friday - November 22, 2023

Saturday - November 23, 2023

Sunday - November 24, 2023