Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, June 24, 2026.— The Universidad Panamericana Aguascalientes campus continues to strengthen its presence on the international academic stage thanks to the outstanding performance of its students. On this occasion, students in the Artificial Intelligence Engineering program qualified for the World Finals of the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC), one of the most prestigious competitive programming contests worldwide.
Strengthening UP's Presence in High-Level Competitions
The ICPC brings together teams of three students who must solve up to twelve algorithmic problems in five hours using a single computer and facing strict time and memory constraints.
After months of training and hard work, the Igloo Zone team—composed of Rogelio Guerrero, Adrián Muro (team captain), and Logan Guerrero, all students in the Artificial Intelligence Engineering program—qualified for the ICPC Mexico National Finals, held in November 2025 in Guadalajara.
In a historic competition that brought together nearly 120 teams, the team from Aguascalientes took third place nationally and won a gold medal, cementing its status as one of the best teams in Mexico. This result earned them a spot in the Programmers of the Americas Championship, held in Santiago, Chile, in March of this year.
Participating in Programadores de América was one of the biggest challenges for the team. For four months, they stepped up their preparation, completing more than 50 practice contests and holding training sessions even during vacation periods.
The competition in Chile put both his technical knowledge and his mental toughness to the test. “It was the toughest competition I’ve ever faced, ” Adrián recalled. “The last problem came up with three minutes left, and without that problem, we wouldn’t have qualified for the World Finals.”
After placing 13th in Latin America in that competition, the team earned its official spot in the 50th ICPC World Finals in Dubai in 2026.
A team built on talent, experience, and hard work
For Dr. Ricardo Espinosa, the team's coach, Igloo Zone represents one of the most promising generations in the history of the Universidad Panamericana.
“I believe this is a unique opportunity to bring honor to Mexico and the UP, as this would be our institution’s seventh world championship, making it the university with the second-highest number of appearances in the ICPC world finals.”
For Adrián Muro, who is participating in this competition for the fifth and final year before graduating, the team’s composition was the result of a careful search for talent. His teammates, Rogelio Guerrero and Logan Guerrero, are currently in their first years of college, but they have an outstanding track record in math and computer science competitions.
“They already have a lot of experience in similar competitions. They’ve already built up a lot of competitive momentum and, above all, they have the kind of training and skills needed for this type of college competition,” Adrián explained.
Rogelio has been a two-time champion at the renowned International Mathematical Olympiad, as well as at various other math competitions; Logan, for his part, stood out as Mexico’s representative in a world computer science competition during high school.
“Joining the ICPC was like entering a whole new world—something completely different from my comfort zone, because I really love math. But the ICPC is all about programming; even though they go hand in hand, they’re very different concepts. It was a really challenging but also a lot of fun experience,” says Rogelio.
The students agree that the main challenge is not just solving complex problems, but also communicating effectively and making decisions under pressure.
“The ICPC is less about solving problems and more about knowing how to work as a team. Because once the three of us are sitting in front of a computer with 12 problems, we have to divide them up based on each person’s skills and strengths,” he adds.
Heading to Dubai to Compete Against the World's Best
Currently, the students are continuing to prepare for the World Finals, where they will compete against the top universities in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
The team recognizes the high level of competition in this upcoming stage, but its goal is to continue improving the performance of the " Universidad Panamericana " and establish itself among the best teams in Latin America.
“Reaching the World Final is already a great achievement, but we’re not stopping there. We want to keep putting in a strong performance and climb as high as possible in the standings,” said the team captain.
Adrián Muro also noted that the experience he gained through the ICPC opened up significant academic and professional opportunities for him, including internships at Google and Netflix, where he will begin working once he completes his college studies.
Beyond the results achieved, the student emphasized the value of sharing knowledge with new generations of students and contributing to the growth of the competitive programming community at the university.
Igloo Zone will represent the Aguascalientes campus of the Universidad Panamericana in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from November 15 to 20, building on a track record of academic excellence, collaborative work, and high performance in international competitions.
Fostering competitive talent to transform the world
Igloo Zone’s qualification for the 2026 ICPC World Finals reflects the commitment of the Pan-American University’s Aguascalientes campus to academic excellence, technological innovation, and the development of highly competitive talent.
Through its Artificial Intelligence Engineering program, guidance from specialized faculty, and a focus on developing international competencies, the institution prepares students to solve complex problems, develop innovative solutions, and compete at the highest level on the global stage.
With this achievement, the National Institute of Technology ( Universidad Panamericana ) reaffirms its leadership in training engineers with an international perspective, strengthening Mexico’s presence in one of the world’s most important programming competitions.
