By Tommy Kopetskie, staff
October 1, 2025
Elon junior Ethan Wu worked alongside School of Communications faculty members Amanda Sturgill and Randy Piland in Baku, Azerbaijan, as part of a production team documenting one of the world’s most prestigious programming competitions.
Elon University junior Ethan Wu joined faculty members Amanda Sturgill and Randy Piland in Baku, Azerbaijan, this September to help document the world’s top collegiate programmers in action at the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) World Finals – often called the “Olympics of college coding.” The annual competition draws more than 60,000 regional competitors from more than 3,000 universities, with roughly 2,000 finalists from over 50 countries tackling complex, real-world programming challenges. This year’s championship concluded with St. Petersburg State University of Russia earning the top honor.
Elon students, faculty and alumni have contributed to ICPC media efforts for the past decade, and this year continued that long-running involvement. Sturgill said Wu was chosen for the international production crew because of his exceptional photography skills – evident by his strong work in student media and Elon’s Office of University Communications.
“The opportunity to get real-world production experience while traveling to a completely different culture deeply fascinated me,” said Wu, a communication design major who has lived in China and the United States. “The experience exceeded my expectations, providing valuable insight into a professional media production environment and process.”
In his role, Wu documented events and speeches, assisting the ICPC video team with gimbal shots and capturing b-roll of everything from the competition floor to the streets of Old and New Baku. “The video crew relied on Ethan’s facility with gimbal shots to tell the story of competitors from six continents who came to Baku,” said Sturgill, associate professor of journalism and one of the event’s media producers.
Like past years, the ICPC news coverage had a distinct Elon presence. Piland, associate teaching professor of communication design, offered mentorship and guidance throughout the week. Sturgill and Interactive Media alumna Bettina Johnson ’06, G’11 served as lead media producers, shaping the storytelling approach and coordinating coverage. Fellow Interactive Media graduate Chris Kirkham G’12 contributed to the production team as well. Together, the group ensured that the ICPC’s global audience experienced the excitement of the competition and the rich culture of Azerbaijan.
For Wu, the cultural exchange proved just as memorable as the technical work. “It was great to practice my video skills and receive in-person feedback and guidance from Elon alumni and industry professionals while reinforcing my photography skills,” he said. “The most memorable part of my time in Baku was my interactions with the locals. It was very interesting learning about their culture and cooperating with them in media production. I even had the chance to try some local foods served at the competition.”
Wu’s work, featured on the ICPC YouTube channel, captures both the creativity of the competitors and the striking sights of Baku.
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People in this article:
Amanda Sturgill
Associate Professor of Journalism
Charles Piland
Associate Teaching Professor of Communication Design
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