![[BIO Logo]](../images/bio99-logo.gif){kind=logo}
the computing competition for schools and colleges.
BIO 2001 is sponsored by Data Connection.
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The British Informatics
Olympiad is the computing competition for schools and colleges. BIO 2001 is sponsored by Data Connection. |
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Press release
20 July 2001
For immediate publication
BIO 2001 - the national computing competition for schools
Finnish medals triumph for British Computing team
Summary
3 British students today received gold, silver and bronze at the prestigious International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI), held this week in the Finnish city of Tampere. About 300 students from over 70 countries took part in the IOI. The British team are supported by strategic computer technology company Data Connection, who sponsor both the team's travel and the national competition that selected them.
The medals are as follows. Richard Smith, gold; Nick Krempel, silver; Ruari O'Sullivan, bronze. Richard Smith was ranked 10th overall in the world. This builds on Britain's outstanding success in the IOI, where we have now won 13 medals in the last four years.
Release
A team of four British students have spent this week in Tampere, representing Britain at the 13th International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI). Around 300 students competed in two gruelling days of tests. In these they had to write computer programs to solve complex problems with a strict time limit. The team travelled expenses-paid thanks to sponsorship by Data Connection, a world-leading strategic computer technology company based in the UK.
The problems they faced included running mobile phone networks, playing a traditional African game given a new twist, and cracking encryption codes. Away from the competition, the team were treated to a day out on a Finnish island, enjoyed a sauna, and endured Finland's newest roller-coaster, the Tornado.
The students were selected in the 2001 British Informatics Olympiad. This competition is open to all schools and colleges around Britain. About 1000 students entered. Presenting prizes to the winners of the BIO, Dr. Peter Brown, a software developer at Data Connection, awarded the prizes. He said, "Data Connection is proud to sponsor BIO 2001. As one of the world's most successful strategic computer technology companies, we base our success on recruiting exceptionally talented people and training them to become world-class software developers, managers and marketeers. BIO 2001 has succeeded in attracting some of the country's brightest and best young computing students. The IOI team is a formidable collection of talent - exactly the sort of people we recruit as both pre-university and full-time employees."
The team members are:
Further information
More information on the BIO may be obtained from:
| Antony Rix Chairman, the British Informatics Olympiad Christ's College, Cambridge CB2 3BU Phone: 01223 410 780 or 07730 426 250. E-mail: (see contact details from home page) |
Laura Mitchell Data Connection Limited 100 Church Street, Enfield EN2 6BQ Phone: 020 8366 1177 Fax: 020 8363 2927 E-mail: http://www.dataconnection.com/ |
Photographs
Copyright-free photographs of the team and finalists are available from the Chairman.
Internet resources
The website of the 2001 International Olympiad in Informatics is: http://www.ioi2001.edu.fi/
The BIO publishes a large amount of information on the Internet. For details of the BIO and related material, take a look at the BIO Index.
If you are publishing a link to the BIO website, please use
the location http://www.olympiad.org.uk/
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Background Information
The British Informatics Olympiad
The British Informatics Olympiad (BIO) is an annual competition in computer programming for students at secondary schools and sixth form colleges. Any student who is under 19, in full time pre-university education and resident in mainland Britain, is eligible to take part and has the chance to win the prize of an expenses-paid trip to the prestigious International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI).
The first stage of the BIO is a three-hour exam, taken at school, in which students solve problems with the aid of a computer. These are marked by a teacher and submitted for moderation. Based on the results of this exam, the top 15 competitors are invited to the BIO final in Cambridge over the Easter holiday. The best four make up the team to represent Britain at the IOI.
Organisation and aims
The BIO is a non-profit making organisation founded in 1995, aiming to encourage students to take an active interest in information technology, to allow them to meet and exchange ideas, and to give the best the chance to compete at the annual International Olympiad in Informatics.
In order to make the BIO as inclusive as possible, it is free to enter. This can only be achieved thanks to the aid of commercial sponsorship. BIO 2001 is sponsored by Data Connection, one of the world's most successful computer technology companies. Founded in 1981, Data Connection now has over 200 employees. The company's outstanding success has been driven by a total commitment to quality and a high level of business generated overseas. Data Connection recruit world-class graduates, and offer pre-university work and vacation work to exceptional students.
Data Connection's website is at http://www.dataconnection.com/.