Neapolis University Pafos Takes First Place at GRCPC 2026

Neapolis University Pafos hosted the Cyprus round of the Greek Collegiate Programming Contest (GRCPC) on Saturday, 24 October 2026. Its five teams secured the top five positions among Cypriot universities in a competition involving 18 universities from Greece and Cyprus.

The GRCPC is part of the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC), an international university programming competition that began in 1970. In 2025, the contest involved 63,294 students from 3,307 universities across 93 countries, while 140 teams qualified for the World Finals.

The Neapolis team that took first place solved 12 of the 13 problems. The university’s other four teams finished 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th in the overall standings. Three of these teams solved seven problems each, while the fourth solved six.

The university’s teams are coached by Pavel Mavrin, who coordinates their preparation for the competition.

Teams of three students have five hours and one computer to solve complex algorithmic problems. The contest tests analytical thinking, the development of efficient solutions and teamwork under time pressure. These skills are also relevant to evaluating the outputs generated by artificial intelligence tools.

The contest took place simultaneously in Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Heraklion, Ioannina, Kavala and Pafos, with Neapolis University Pafos hosting the Cyprus round.

The participating institutions were the American University of Beirut (Mediterraneo), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Athens University of Economics and Business, Democritus University of Thrace, Harokopio University, International Hellenic University, National Technical University of Athens, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Neapolis University Pafos, University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), University of Crete, University of Cyprus, University of Ioannina, University of Macedonia, University of Nicosia, University of Patras, University of Piraeus and University of West Attica.

This year’s results follow the university’s previous achievements in the ICPC. In 2025, Neapolis University Pafos placed 11th and won a bronze medal at the European Championship in Porto. The university also competed in the ICPC World Finals in Luxor in 2024 and Baku in 2025.

Neapolis University Pafos congratulates its teams and coach Pavel Mavrin on their results and thanks everyone who contributed to the organisation of the competition.