Event Overview:
UCPC (Una Collegiate Programming Contest) is a competitive programming event under MERAKI, inspired by the ICPC format with a strategic auction-based twist.
Instead of pre-formed teams, participants build teams through an auction, testing coding skills along with strategy, judgment, and decision-making.
Event Structure:
UCPC will be conducted in two rounds:
Auction Round.
Main Contest (ICPC-style).
Round 1: Auction Round:
The defining feature of UCPC where teams are formed strategically through bidding.
Registration Categories:
Team Owner:
Receives a fixed virtual purse.
Must buy three programmers from the auction pool to form a team.
Does not participate in coding during Round 2.
Programmer:
Gets placed into a pool of programmers.
Will be auctioned by team owners.
Team allocation is decided based on bidding outcome.
Team Owner + Programmer:
Can both bid and code.
Needs to buy only two additional programmers.
A considerable amount is deducted from the initial purse to ensure auction fairness.
Key Rules:
Maximum team size is three members.
Teams can only be formed via auction.
Auction rules, purse values, and deductions will be disclosed before the event.
Any participant who remains unsold at the end of the auction round will be eliminated and will not be eligible for Round 2.
Round 1 Details:
Date: 6th February 2026.
Time: 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM.
Venue: Room 227, Academic Block.
Round 2: Main Contest (ICPC-Style):
Conducted in the standard ICPC-style competitive programming format.
Teams of three members formed in Round 1 will compete together.
The contest includes algorithmic and problem-solving challenges.
Teams aim to solve as many problems as possible within the given time.
Ranking Criteria:
Number of problems solved.
Penalty time for incorrect submissions.
Round 2 Details:
Date: 9th February 2026.
Time: 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
Venue: Room 006, Academic Block.
