On the morning of March 9, 2,115 students from 533 schools across 54 provinces and cities nationwide competed online in the Preliminary Round of the Programming Competition for High School Students. The competition was divided into three categories: PRO CHALLENGE with 558 contestants, NAÏ CHALLENGE with 916 contestants, and JUNIOR CHALLENGE with 641 contestants.
In the Preliminary Round, contestants took the online exam through the system http://coder.husc.edu.vn using login credentials provided by the Organizing Committee (OC). The OC implemented an automatic grading system and assigned supervisors to monitor the exam rooms. A plagiarism detection system was also in place to prevent copying and the use of AI-assisted tools. Any submissions with a source code similarity of 90% or higher were subject to review. If plagiarism was confirmed, the contestant’s submission was deemed a violation and was disqualified from scoring.
Candidates take the online exam under supervision via the conference room camera system, at the exam locations in the IT room and from the Organizing Committee's monitoring team.
Contestants completed their online exams under surveillance via conference room cameras, with on-site supervision at school computer labs and remote monitoring by the OC.
According to the OC, after three successful editions, the Hue-ICT Challenge has gained widespread recognition, with schools and students across the country actively registering. With quality assurance from the Vietnam Association for Information Processing (VAIP), a specialized advisory board was established to develop exam content, ensuring the competition maintains its national-level standards. This has contributed to the increasing competitiveness and enthusiasm of students and schools in registering for the competition.
Finalists will compete in the Grand Finals at the University of Sciences, Hue University, on March 23, 2025. The Awards Ceremony for the Programming Competition for High School Students will take place on the evening of the same day at Hall A1, University of Sciences, Hue University (77 Nguyễn Huệ Street, Phú Nhuận Ward, Thuận Hóa District, Hue City).
The Hue-ICT Challenge is an annual competition organized by the Hue Information Technology and Telecommunications Association (HueDITA) in collaboration with the University of Sciences, Hue University. First launched in 2022, the competition is supported by the People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue Province (now the People's Committee of Hue City), alongside the Department of Information and Communications (now the Department of Science and Technology), the Department of Education and Training, the Hue Information Technology Center (HueCIT), the Hue Monuments Conservation Center, Hue College, and media sponsorship from the digital platform Khám Phá Huế (Explore Hue).
Since 2024, the competition has received technical sponsorship from experts at the Vietnam Association for Information Processing (VAIP), elevating it to a national-scale event with enhanced quality and prestige.
The Hue-ICT Challenge aims to foster a spirit of learning, creativity, teamwork, and international standards integration among high school students. It also provides career orientation for students interested in IT, helping them develop future careers and meet the labor market demand in Hue, the Central Highlands, and across Vietnam. Additionally, the competition creates an environment that promotes creativity and research passion in IT and communications among college and university students. It serves as a bridge between government agencies, businesses, associations, and educational institutions in the IT and telecommunications sectors, while also identifying and supporting meaningful and practical ideas or applications to compete in provincial and national innovation competitions.
As of now, the Organizing Committee has received sponsorship from several enterprises, including GOSU Online Joint Stock Company (Diamond Sponsor), SMC Hue Co., Ltd., Urban Architectural Landscape Sustainable Design Company (UALS) (Gold Sponsors), G6 Import-Export Co., Ltd. (Silver Sponsor), and Brycen Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Co-Sponsor). Many of these companies have been long-term supporters of the competition since its inception.