![Left to right: Martin Dickie, Michael Moschella, Paul Buonopane and Joseph Mitchell.]( "Left to right: Martin Dickie, Michael Moschella, Paul Buonopane and Joseph Mitchell.")
Left to right: Martin Dickie, Michael Moschella, Paul Buonopane and Joseph Mitchell.
Contact:
Liz Cooper
781-239-2636
ecooper@massbay.edu
WELLESLEY HILLS, MA (April 2018) — MassBay Community College is pleased to announce a student computer science programing team has placed second at the 23rd National Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges Northeastern (CCSCNE) regional competition. The three-member student team from MassBay, placed second behind Quinnipiac University, out of 29 teams that competed in the competition. The MassBay team placed ahead of other 4-year colleges and universities such as Clark University and University of Rhode Island, and the only community college to place in the top 15 teams.
The student team participants include; Paul Buonopane of Medfield, Joseph Mitchell of Framingham, Michael Moschella of Southborough and Martin Dickie of Framingham, who served as the team alternate.
“Professor Shamsi Moussavi has mentored many computer science students over the years, taking active interest in how they learn, encouraging and mentoring them to achieve more in their journey at MassBay,” said MassBay Dean of STEM Chitra Javdekar. “Our computer science students worked hard for this win, and took advantage of all resources MassBay can offer. I am thrilled and happy for our student team and faculty.”
The students have been practicing every week since September 2017. Teams were evaluated by how many problems they can correctly complete, with any ties broken by the amount of time taken to complete the program. Teams submitted completed codes to judges using a standard system employed by many national competitions. Judges ran the submitted code through more test, before awarding points to teams.
“For the third time in the past 3 years, our students accomplished what many university juniors and seniors did not,” said MassBay Computer Science Professor and the team’s faculty advisor Shamsi Moussavi. “The programming team members along with other students interested in participating in weekly sessions, practiced for this competition for months, went to the competition prepared, stayed calm and composed, and fully focused on the task at hand. Their hard work paid off!”
The CCSCNE started in 1996 and is one of the largest regions of the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges (CCSE). CCSCNE brings together faculty, staff, and students from academic institutions throughout the Northeast for exchange of ideas and information concerning undergraduate computing curricula. This conference provides a regional forum for the exchange of information and ideas pertaining to the concerns of computing and computing curricula in a smaller academic environment. The purpose of the Consortium is to promote the betterment of computer-oriented curricula in two- and four-year colleges and universities; to improve the use of computing as an educational resource for all disciplines; to encompass regional constituencies devoted to this purpose; and to promote a national liaison among, local, regional and national organizations also devoted to this purpose. Predominately these colleges and universities are oriented toward teaching, rather than research.
This year’s competition was held at the University of New Hampshire at Manchester in Manchester, NH.
For more information on MassBay: www.massbay.edu.
For more information on the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges Northeastern region: http://ccscne.org.
MassBay Community College was recently ranked by the Brookings Institution as one of the top schools for value added and earned salaries in the workforce. Ranked #1 for 2-year colleges in Massachusetts, #2 in New England and ranked #16 nationally. The College’s facilities in Wellesley Hills, Framingham and Ashland house day, evening and weekend classes that meet the needs of degree-seeking students and career minded life-long learners. Online options provide convenience and allow faculty to facilitate the learning process. Since its founding in 1961, MassBay has been accredited by several governing bodies and strives to meet the needs of the diverse local communities it serves.