Soham Basanwar, an Indian American University of Illinois Chicago junior, received three honors at the inaugural International Computer Science Competition, finishing first in the senior category and the U.S. national category.
The online competition tests participants on conceptual and programming problems across three progressively challenging rounds where college and university students compete in the senior division.
Among 4,300 competitors, Basanwar ranked in the top 1% and secured first place in the senior category. He also took first place in the national category for students attending school in the United States and received a Gold Honor for an outstanding submission.
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Basanwar said his performance throughout the competition encouraged him to put more effort into each round. “As I progressed through the rounds and performed better than I initially expected, I became increasingly invested in the competition and put more effort into each stage,” he said.
His previous participation in the International Youth Math Challenge and the International Astronomy and Astrophysics Competition also gave him experience tackling challenging problems outside the classroom.
At UIC, Basanwar is majoring in computer science with a focus on software engineering. Originally from India, he chose the university for its academic environment and the breadth of its research activities. He says that Chicago’s cultural diversity, food and climate also appealed to him.
Beyond his university studies, Basanwar independently explores topics including artificial intelligence, psychology and emerging technologies. He also interns at Checago Coffee App, whose clients include small coffee shops in the area.
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His work has included Android development, backend application programming interfaces, Amazon Web Services infrastructure, administrative tools and database development. He has also prepared technical documentation and guides to support development across platforms, including the company’s iOS team.
A significant part of his internship involved responding to a ransomware attack that disrupted portions of the company’s infrastructure. Basanwar helped rebuild and restructure the database environment and reconnect it with the backend, Android application, administrative website and other parts of the platform.
The experience gave him a direct role in restoring connections between the company’s database and its other systems, according to his account. After graduating, Basanwar hopes to work as a full-stack engineer, and is also considering pursuing a master’s degree.