KOSEN Programming Contest 2025

In October 2025 I took part in the KOSEN Programming Contest (高専プロコン), the national contest for colleges of technology organized by the National Federation of Colleges of Technology, as a member of a five-person team from Yuge College. Our entry in the Original Section received the Fighting Spirit Prize.

The team was Ukyo Okada, Koki Fukuda, Toya Kimura, Hurano Hirabayasi and me. It was my second year at KOSEN. My activity in the Microcomputer Club (弓削商船マイコン部) is mostly preparation for this contest.

The idea

The entry grew out of a simple observation: cooking is a lot like programming. We took the steps of a recipe—“simmer the vegetables,” “wait five minutes”—and expressed them as an algorithm, so that someone could learn programming while actually making a meal. Learning programming and cooking a meal at the same time was the point.

The club

The Microcomputer Club is known as a strong competitor at Procon; it has won the MEXT Minister’s Award (文部科学大臣賞) twelve times. Part of that comes from the exceptional teacher the club originally had, but more of it comes from the students’ enthusiasm. Seniors teach juniors closely, so everyone stays motivated, and it is a good place to grow. This entry was one result of that environment.