Coding for Excellence: CCDS Student Vannes Wijaya on Competitions, Community, and Growth

For Vannes Wijaya, obsession is not a flaw but a driving force. From winning global programming medals to shaping tech solutions at CCDS, his journey shows how passion, when pursued relentlessly, can fuel excellence and inspire others. 

Vannes’ record of excellence began long before CCDS. He first stood out in national competitions, clinching medals at the Indonesia National Science Olympiad in both Mathematics and Informatics, including a Gold Medal in Mathematics in 2020, a Bronze Medal in Informatics in 2021, and a Silver Medal in Mathematics in 2016. Beyond mathematics, he shone in programming competitions, earning the Silver Coder award at the Indonesia Young Coders League Vol. 2 in 2022. These experiences laid the foundation for his later success on the international stage, where he went on to secure two consecutive silver medals at the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) in 2022 and 2023. 

At CCDS, he built on this momentum, earning honours at the ICPC Asia Pacific Championship 2024 and placing as second runner-up in TCS CodeVita Season 11. He has also gained valuable experience through internships with Huawei as an Algorithm Engineer and ST Engineering as a Machine Learning Engineer. 

Most recently, Vannes triumphed at Clash of Champions Season 2 in 2025, an educational game show by prominent Edutech firm Ruangguru. Bringing together 80 of the brightest students from top universities worldwide, including Oxford and Stanford, the competition tested logic, memory, spatial reasoning, numerical ability, and problem-solving. Vannes emerged victorious, cracking nine complex logic puzzles in record time and achieving a perfect score in spatial memory challenges, showing his versatility as the ultimate all-rounder. 

Within CCDS, his impact extends beyond personal accolades. As IT Executive of the Students’ Computing and Data Science Club (SCDS), he spearheaded the PYPHub project, a platform that allowed peers to access past-year papers, collaborate, and benefit from machine-generated solutions. The project proved its value when hundreds of CCDS students used it in the lead-up to final exams. 

“To be obsessed. That is the lesson I carry,” Vannes reflected. “Every successful student I have met through competitions could talk for hours about their craft. That is true for me too.” On his CCDS experience, he added, “The community is very welcoming and diverse. I have met so many students with their own niche and talents that never stop to fascinate me.” Looking ahead, he is realistic yet hopeful: “I may not change the whole world, but if I can make life a little happier, more peaceful, or less of a struggle for those around me, that is impact too.” 

Vannes’ story shows that excellence at CCDS is not limited to medals or rankings. It is about building communities, pushing personal limits, and translating knowledge into meaningful contributions. His journey reflects the spirit of CCDS students: competitive yet collaborative, ambitious yet grounded, and always ready to turn obsession into impact.