Two Mongolian MUM Students Place 5th & 7th in US National Hackathon, Win Trip to Silicon Valley
February (Maharishi University of Management, USA) You might think they were brothers. Khongor Enkhbold and Khasan Bold both grew up in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Both attended the National University of Mongolia to study computer science, and both worked as Software Engineers at the Mongolian national telecom company before enrolling in the MUM Masters in Computer Science program last October.
But the similarities don't end there. Khongor & Khasan both enjoy competing in high level computer programming contests. On February 2, 2013, while enrolled in the challenging Web Application Programming course, they entered the Back to School Hackathon for current US undergraduate and graduate students. Competitors were given 24 hours to complete 6 moderate algorithmic, AI and general programming online challenges. The top ten competitors win a trip to tour Silicon Valley to meet professionals from 14 top tech companies, including Twitter and Facebook. More than 400 programmers, including students from Harvard, Princeton, Carnegie-Melon, and MIT entered the competition. At the end of the competition, Khongor placed 5th and Khasan finished in 7th position among all US collegiate competitors, even though they had little time to prepare. So they each have won an all-expenses paid trip to Silicon Valley in late February.
Competition Veterans
Khongor and Khasan have enjoyed success in computer programming competitions for a number of years. In 2010 they were on a 3-person team that won the championship cup for all of Mongolia. In 2009, they won bronze medals in the ACM International Collegiate Programming Competition, sponsored by IBM, in the Asian region in Shanghai, China. In 2010 and 2011, Khongor also won bronze and silver medals with different teammates at the same venue.
When asked why they compete in these events, Khongor responded, "We don't compete because we need to... We compete because we love to!" Khasan's love for competition is evidenced in the ongoing support he gives to his younger brother back in Mongolia. Every day he sends his brother tips to help him prepare for future mathematics, programming and physics competitions.
Goals
Both students share the goal of working as Java Developers in top West Coast software companies. Their dreams may come true very soon, since they will be completing their on-campus courses and seeking their curricular practical training (CPT) internship employment in US companies in May. Khongor and Khasan will undoubtedly have the attention of many recruiters during their prize-winning trip this month.
Why attend MUM?
When asked why they selected MUM for Computer Science graduate school, the two Mongolian students cited the ability to gain the latest practical software development knowledge from top faculty, along with the unique opportunity to work in the US. They have also found Fairfield to be a small peaceful city which makes an ideal place to study.
But the similarities don't end there. Khongor & Khasan both enjoy competing in high level computer programming contests. On February 2, 2013, while enrolled in the challenging Web Application Programming course, they entered the Back to School Hackathon for current US undergraduate and graduate students. Competitors were given 24 hours to complete 6 moderate algorithmic, AI and general programming online challenges. The top ten competitors win a trip to tour Silicon Valley to meet professionals from 14 top tech companies, including Twitter and Facebook. More than 400 programmers, including students from Harvard, Princeton, Carnegie-Melon, and MIT entered the competition. At the end of the competition, Khongor placed 5th and Khasan finished in 7th position among all US collegiate competitors, even though they had little time to prepare. So they each have won an all-expenses paid trip to Silicon Valley in late February.
Competition Veterans
Khongor and Khasan have enjoyed success in computer programming competitions for a number of years. In 2010 they were on a 3-person team that won the championship cup for all of Mongolia. In 2009, they won bronze medals in the ACM International Collegiate Programming Competition, sponsored by IBM, in the Asian region in Shanghai, China. In 2010 and 2011, Khongor also won bronze and silver medals with different teammates at the same venue.
When asked why they compete in these events, Khongor responded, "We don't compete because we need to... We compete because we love to!" Khasan's love for competition is evidenced in the ongoing support he gives to his younger brother back in Mongolia. Every day he sends his brother tips to help him prepare for future mathematics, programming and physics competitions.
Goals
Both students share the goal of working as Java Developers in top West Coast software companies. Their dreams may come true very soon, since they will be completing their on-campus courses and seeking their curricular practical training (CPT) internship employment in US companies in May. Khongor and Khasan will undoubtedly have the attention of many recruiters during their prize-winning trip this month.
Why attend MUM?
When asked why they selected MUM for Computer Science graduate school, the two Mongolian students cited the ability to gain the latest practical software development knowledge from top faculty, along with the unique opportunity to work in the US. They have also found Fairfield to be a small peaceful city which makes an ideal place to study.
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