10
SPOTLIGHT
FEB 2015
UMP
大學廣場
Key to success –
Interview with the winning team of CodeIT Suisse 2014
Student Reporter: John Cheng
H
ave you ever wondered what the secrets behind
fancy computer software and mobile apps are?
Although we may be unaware of it, coding has
become an essential part of our lives. To encourage young
coding talents to join their Information Technology team,
Financial Services provider, Credit Suisse, organized a
coding challenge, “CodeIT Suisse” for local university
students. Three CUHK students, Elton Chung Yiu-ting, Alan
Wong Cheuk-lun and William Cheung Wai-lam of team
INFINITY became the eventual winners of the competition.
To participate in the competition, participants had to first
decrypt an encoded message containing instructions on how
to apply. Then, selected teams were invited to the finals, in
which they had to produce a web system for stock trading
within two days, followed by a final presentation.
As Computer Science students, Elton, William and Alan
have been interested in coding since an early age. Despite
their strong passion, they still found the competition very
challenging. “Time was really tight and we had to work under
huge pressure. Besides, we were not given many instructions,
so we had to figure out many things by ourselves,” says Elton.
“Also, some of us were not familiar with principles of stock
market, so I had to explain to my teammates before we can
start working. That took us a lot of time.”
But with great team work and cooperation, they managed
to produce a decent product within limited time and won the
competition. Elton says the key to success is the efficient
division of labour within the team. “William is most familiar
with webpage design, so he did most of the coding. Alan was
responsible for research and I served as a business analyst”.
Speaking of the most memorable experience in the
competition, they recalled rushing to the final presentation.
“We were still fixing an important bug in the software when
it was time for presentation. We were really nervous but
luckily, in the end we managed to fix it,” Elton says.
All the three of them have gained valuable
experiences in the competition. Alan is proud of
their product and the new attempts he has made
in the competition, for example, designing the
website login page. William says this experience
has definitely helped them realize the importance
of time management. Elton says the competition
is like “running a marathon on the computer”
and believes the competition has improved their
ability to work under pressure and team work.
After the competition, they have also developed
interest in the work of the financial services
sector. “At first, I thought working in such an
organization would be tough but actually you
get to try new technology and the work is not
very rigid,” William says. Elton is also impressed
by the nice and friendly working atmosphere in
Credit Suisse.
As winners of CodeIT Suisse 2014, the trio has been offered
fast-tracked first round interviews for the summer internship
programme at the company. They will definitely consider
pursuing a career in Information Technology in prestigious
financial services firms like Credit Suisse. Let’s wish them all
the best in becoming future successful software engineers!
About Credit Suisse
)
:
Credit Suisse is a global financial services company providing
Private Banking & Wealth Management products and
services, and Investment Banking services and expertise, to
companies, institutions and high-net-worth clients around the
world. As a stable company with a long banking tradition,
it is one of the most respected banks in the world, and a
leading player in many key markets. It is active in more than
50 countries and employs over 46,000 people.
