Directi Go for Gold Initiative

How do you win?

The Directi Go for Gold Cup and cash prize will be awarded to any Indian team that finishes higher at the ACM ICPC than any other Indian team has in the history of the contest.

Current rank to beat: 29 18

What do you win?

• The prestigious Go for Gold Cup on behalf of your college (The winners of the Go for Gold Cup will have their names inscribed in the Cup.)
• A cash prize calculated by using the Golden Rule

How much is the prize?

The cash prize for any year is computed as follows -

Prize = (Rs. 161803 * 1.61803^1.61803) * (log (base 1.61803) (N+1))

• N is the number of years for which this prize has remained unclaimed (Current value of N is 1)
• 1.61803 are the first 6 digits of the golden ratio (go for gold ;))

Each year the prize is unclaimed, it increases further. The below table shows how this prize would grow if it were unclaimed for the next 4 years -

How is the prize money distributed?

• The winning team will dedicate 33% of the prize to their college to spend towards anything related to enhancing the IT infrastructure (internet connection, laptops, computer room)
• The remaining prize will be divided amongst the team members

Can more than one team win per year?
More than one team can win the title. If multiple teams win, they will all have their names inscribed on the cup. However the cash prize will only be awarded to the team that finishes the highest. Additionally, the cup will only be given to the college of that team.

As a part of the Go for Gold initiative, we also want to encourage increased participation in other programming contests. Each year, we plan to sponsor more contests in India, providing financial and operations support to contest organizers. Here's a breakdown of the support we can provide to select contests:

Cash Sponsorships

Sponsorship Package

We have dedicated a substantial budget to fund our contest sponsorship program. In return, we only ask for branding placements and that contests use the CodeChef platform:

• The Directi Go for Gold logo on the contest website, collateral, mailers, posters, banners on venue, print materials, in press releases and other PR material. These promotions help us get the Go for Gold message out there and encourage participation
• Usage of CodeChef as a coding contest platform for the online version of the contest. We would provide a web interface to contest coordinators to manage the platform just as they would manage any other platform. This can also be leveraged to increase participation by using our existing member base.
  At CodeChef we are committed to transparency and equitable partnerships with all contests.

Directi is happy to provide team sponsorships to the top programming teams in the country.

Who is eligible?

Programming teams become eligible to earn sponsorships based on their results in certain programming challenges. We will announce the specific criteria for team sponsorship very soon.

What's included?

For select teams and programmers, we will offer:

• 50% travel reimbursements for the ACM final tournament
• Team uniforms (you can't wear these at the actual ACM-ICPC, but you can sport them anywhere else)
• Internship opportunities
• ... and more

Over the next few years, we'll be expanding the Go for Gold Project to include more support for aspiring Indian programmers and more incentives to improve.

Here are just a few of things we're planning to do:

• We are planning to extend this program to schools.
• More comprehensive sponsorship coverage for contests, including more cash and other benefits
• We are planning intensive training camps for students going in for the ICPC regionals.

All of Directi's educational initiatives are designed to push Indian software developers to improve and become leaders in the industry. We devote considerable time and resources to programs that we feel can kickstart young people's ambition and motivation.

The Go for Gold Project is no exception. We know that it won't be easy to capture first prize at the ACM-ICPC Finals, so we've structured the Project for the long-term.

We're challenging Indian programmers make incremental improvements upon what their peers have done. We see this as a process that will happen over many years, and we're happy to provide training and guidance along the way.

Goals of the Go for Gold Project:

1. Provide training and support for up-and-coming Indian software developers.
2. Encourage Indian programmers to see their own potential to build the next generation of revolutionary web products.
3. Show the world that India has the talent and skill to be the worldwide leader in software development.

The structure, goals and finances of this project are transparent and easily accessible to anyone who wishes to view them. We welcome questions and are happy to discuss the project in further detail.