Hacking is a core aspect of Facebook's culture. Whether we are developing the next big product at one of our hackathons or creating a smarter search algorithm, we constantly hack to find better solutions.
We are launching the Hacker Cup to unite engineers worldwide in a multi-round programming competition. Participants must solve algorithmic problem statements to advance, being ranked by accuracy and speed.
What: An annual algorithmic programming contest open to hackers globally.
Where: Three online rounds with finals at Facebook's headquarters in California.
When: Registration opens on December 20th. The three online rounds will occur throughout January 2011, followed by the world finals.
Finals: We will cover the travel and accommodation expenses for the top 25 hackers from the 3rd online round to our campus.
Prizes: The top hacker will win $5,000 and the title of world champion. The second place will receive $2,000, third place $1,000, and fourth to twenty-fifth places will get $100 each. The top 300 hackers from the second online round will receive awesome t-shirts.
Details: See below.
Thousands will enter, but only one will emerge as the world champion.
The Fine Print
The competition starts with a 72-hour Qualification Round from January 7, 2011, at 0:00 UTC (January 6, 4:00 PM PST) to January 10, 2011, at 0:00 UTC (January 9, 4:00 PM PST). All registered competitors will tackle three problems. Only those who solve at least one problem will move on to Online Round 1.
Online Round 1 consists of three sub-rounds, each lasting three hours, at different times from January 15, 2011, at 15:00 UTC (7:00 AM PST) to January 16, 2011, at 0:00 UTC (January 15, 4:00 PM PST). Competitors who advance can participate in any of the three sub-rounds until they qualify for Online Round 2. The top 1,000 competitors from each sub-round will advance to Online Round 2.
Online Round 2 begins on January 22, 2011, at 15:00 UTC (7:00 AM PST) and ends on January 22, 2011, at 18:00 UTC (10:00 AM PST). The 3,000 competitors will have three hours to solve the problem sets. The top 300 participants will receive an official Hacker Cup t-shirt. The top 25 competitors will be notified via email that they have advanced to the final round at Facebook.
Facebook will fly the top 25 competitors to Palo Alto, California, for the final round on March 11, 2011. They will compete for significant cash prizes and other exciting rewards. One champion will emerge and be immortalized on the Hacker Cup trophy.
Stay updated on the Hacker Cup page at www.facebook.com/hackercup as the January 7th qualification round approaches.
May the best hacker win!
