Microsoft Data Structures and Algorithms School (MIDAS) will take place in St. Petersburg, Russia, on August 8–14, 2010. The school is sponsored by Microsoft Research and organized in cooperation with St. Petersburg Polytechnic University and Academic Physics and Technology University. The school follows a highly successful HPC school held in 2009.

Goals

• To offer students a unique opportunity to learn about fundamental and state of the art results on Data Structures and Algorithms from top scientists in the area.
• To provide a stimulating environment for students to meet and establish ties with each other and school lecturers.

News

• Only one addition to this site left -- winning programming assignment solution.

Courses

• Giuseppe F. Italiano (University of Rome, Italy)
  Algorithms on Large Data Sets
• David S. Johnson (AT&T Labs, USA)
  Case Studies: The Traveling Salesman and Bin Packing Problems
• Clifford Stein (Columbia University, USA)
  Combinatorial Optimization Algorithms
• Robert E. Tarjan (Princeton University and HP, USA)
  Data Structures
• Renato F. Werneck (Microsoft Research, USA)
  Shortest Paths and Experimental Evaluation of Algorithms

Additional Lectures

• Andrew Herbert (Microsoft Research, UK)
  An Overview of Hot Research Topics at MSR Cambridge

School Director

• Andrew V. Goldberg (Microsoft Research, USA)

Participation
Advanced undergraduates, PhD students and young scientists and developers interested in Data Structures and Algorithms are encouraged to apply. The school is primarily aimed at Russian residents, but students residing abroad who do not need a visa to enter Russia may apply (see FAQ). English is the working language of the school, but some presentations will be in Russian so the students should be fluent in both languages. Minimal necessary background includes an introductory algorithms class and basic programming skills (in C++). Accepted students will pay no tuition, and the school will cover their accommodations on the Polytech campus, meals, and social program. The students are expected to pay for their travel to St. Petersburg and back. A limited number of partial or full travel grants may be provided.

Format
The school will have lectures, question and answer sessions, homework and a programming project.

When and How to Apply
Qualified candidates should register by February 22, 2010 and complete their applications by March 15, 2010. Registration is required and takes two minutes. We strongly encourage interested candidates to register right away. Application material (including supervisor's recommendation, short CV, as well as either scientific paper, term paper or other research paper) can be uploaded and updated any time until the application deadline.

For additional information, send an email to midas2010()live.ru.