Competitive Programming Course Outline

Module 1: Introduction to Competitive Programming
What is Competitive Programming?
Platforms & Online Judges (Codeforces, AtCoder, LeetCode, HackerRank, CodeChef)
Contest formats (ICPC, IOI, Topcoder, Google Kickstart, etc.)
Problem-solving mindset & strategies
Time & space complexity refresher (Big-O, Big-Θ, Big-Ω)

Module 2: Essential Programming Foundations
Input/Output optimization
Recursion basics & backtracking introduction
Debugging & edge-case testing
Common pitfalls in contests
Logic Building
Step-by-step approach to break down problems
Identifying patterns in problem statements
Writing pseudocode before coding
Converting ideas into algorithms
Practice Questions (simple math puzzles, pattern problems, array/string basics,
brute-force exercises)

Module 3: Data Structures for Competitive Programming
Arrays & Strings techniques (prefix sums, sliding window, hashing)
Stacks, Queues & Deques (applications in problems)
Linked Lists (rare but useful tricks)

Module 4: Algorithms
Searching & Sorting
Binary Search
Sorting algorithms (built-in sorting, custom comparators)
Graph Algorithms (Beginner Level)
BFS & DFS (graph traversal)

Shortest Paths (Dijkstra – introduction only)
Minimum Spanning Tree (Prim’s, Kruskal – basic overview)
Dynamic Programming (Beginner Level)
Introduction to DP (overlapping subproblems, optimal substructure)
 Classic DP problems:
 Fibonacci sequence
0/1 Knapsack (basic version)
Longest Increasing Subsequence (LIS)
Coin Change (minimum coins / number of ways)
Grid-based DP (unique paths, min path sum)

Module 5: Problem Solving & Contest Strategies

How to read problems quickly
Identifying problem categories
Time management in contests
Brute force vs. optimization approach
Debugging under time pressure
Practicing past ICPC/Codeforces problems

Module 6: Mock Contests & Practice
Weekly contests (short/long format)
Editorial reading and after-contest analysis
Code optimization & clean coding style
Mental stamina building & handling pressure

Final Project / Capstone
Participate in a live contest (Codeforces/AtCoder)
Analyze solutions & compare with top performers
Prepare a problem-set or editorial as part of final assessment