Aguascalientes, Ags., April 25, 2025. The team Upgraded team of the Universidad Panamericana campus Aguascalientes was crowned regional champion of Mexico and won the silver medal at the ICPC 2025 Latin America Latin American Championship of the ICPC 2025 (Programadores da América)Latin America Championship, corresponding to The International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC)the most prestigious programming competition in the world.
World's best programmers recognized
The International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC)is a prestigious competition that tests the algorithmic programming skills of undergraduate students from some 50,000 universities around the world. Its objective is to solve complex programming problems in a high-pressure environment that encourages logical thinking, teamwork and technical efficiency.
This competition is divided into several stages before reaching the major leagues: the national competition, the regional competitions (in this case in Latin America) and finally the world grand final.
From Aguascalientes to the ICPC World Final
After an outstanding participation in the national stage at the end of 2024, the team Upgraded advanced to the Latin American Championshipheld in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, representing Mexico among more than 50 teams from six regions of the continent.
The Latin American Championship is divided into six regions: North South America, South America, Central America, Brazil, Caribbean and Mexico.. During this stage, Upgraded stood out above seven other Mexican teams, where thanks to their outstanding participation in the Mexico Region they were recognized with the title of Mexico Regional Champions.
It is worth mentioning that in the Latin American Championships, the absolute medal standings are classified from first to fourth place in gold; from fifth to eighth in silver; and from ninth to twelfth in bronze. In this sense, the team achieved a silver medal by placing eighth in this stage of the competition at Latin American level.
Upgradedan example of talent, discipline and perseverance.
The team Upgraded team is formed by the eighth semester students of Artificial Intelligence Engineering: Adrián Muro Garduño y Erwin Alberto Lópezas well as the alumni Juan Marquina Cancinowho from August 31 to September 5 of this year will be representing our institution at the 49th ICPC in Baku, Azerbaijan.
All team members have stood out for their computational skills, knowledge and proficiency in programming, but they have also demonstrated that teamwork, effort and passion for learning can take them very far.
"We have individual training where everyone does problems and strengthens their skills to improve in more complicated problems. There is individual preparation, as well as team preparation where we get together once a week to practice and do a five-hour contest as if it were an official competition," they say.they relate.
Adrian Muro had always dreamed of qualifying for a world final. For this, since he was a child he has prepared and trained in camps both in Mexico and abroad, he has also participated in various Olympics and competitions; for him, this achievement means a big step to continue working hard and represent Mexico with pride.
"Our performance has been the result of perseverance and discipline. We want to achieve the best participation in the history of Universidad Panamericana and represent Mexico with pride," he says.she says.
Members emphasize the importance of collaborative work, weekly practice and strategy as key factors in success. In addition, the participation of an alumni as Juan Marquina has strengthened the team's experience and provided an integral vision of the competition.
"I am very proud to close this cycle at ICPC with such a significant result for me and for my university," he says.he says.
To Erwin his participation in this competition has meant to see the result of his effort and dedication materialize, he also expressed his enthusiasm and motivation to be able to compete soon against teams from all over the world and achieve an excellent performance.
"I am very happy because I never thought I would achieve this. I started only in the second semester of my career, unlike my classmates; Iam very happy to change the paradigm that only those who have been training for a long time can achieve it and I would like to motivate those who are starting out, because it is possible".he says.
Additionally, only one computer per team is allowed in the competition. "That is why coordination, group dynamics and the efficiency of using the computer, thinking and knowing when to change places is very important," they said.they pointed out.
Universidad Panamericana is a national benchmark in competitive programming
With this victory, Universidad Panamericana campus Aguascalientes reaffirms its place as a national reference in competitive university programming. This is the sixth time it has qualified for a world final of the ICPC, positioning itself among the best engineering institutions in Latin America.
This result evidences not only the high academic level of the School of Engineering, but also the institutional commitment to internationalization, innovation and the development of technological talent.
Learn more about the Artificial Intelligence Engineering program at: https://movil.up.edu.mx/ags/ingenieria-en-inteligencia-artificial
