Portuguese school sets world record for largest programming lesson


Students participate in an event to attempt to break the Guinness Record for the world's largest computer programming lesson at a university in Lisbon, Portugal, October 12, 2024. REUTERS/Rodrigo Antunes

LISBON (Reuters) - Nearly 1,700 students aged between 12 and 67 gathered at the University of Lisbon's IST school of technology on Saturday to set a new Guinness World Record for the largest computer programming lesson in a single venue.

The previous record grouped 724 participants in Dallas, in the United States, on Oct. 31, 2016.

"The final total was counted on how many people were here and 1,668 participants were achieved," said Guinness World Records Adjudicator Paulina Sapinska.

Organisers sought to draw more international attention to Portugal as a growing hub for information technology and to generally popularise computing.

IST chief Rogerio Colaco said computing literacy these days was the same as the ability to read and write 100 years ago, adding this meant "everyone must know a little bit about computer science, about programming, to live in the present world".

(Reporting by Miguel Pereira; Writing by Andrei Khalip; Editing by Frances Kerry)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

   

Next In Tech News

China influencer adopts pig feed diet costing 40 US cents to save money, raising health concerns
Elon Musk is sued over US$1mil election giveaway
Researchers: Meta struggles to curb hate speech before US vote
KKR secures over one-third of Fuji Soft after first stage of tender offer, says source
UK bank: Oasis fans suffer online ticket scams
Bitcoin leaps to record high as traders lean towards Trump victory
Robots can make your fries, salads and guacamole. Is this the future of fast food?
Nintendo Switch software to be playable on successor device
Childhood trauma could increase the risk of addiction to short-form videos
Perplexity raising new funds at $9 billion valuation, source says

Others Also Read