SQU Takes Top 2 Spots at Oman's Coding Final, GUtech Third

Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) took first and second place at the Oman Collegiate Programming Contest (OCPC) 2026, and the German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech) finished third. The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT) published the results on 21 October. They close a two-day national final at SQU and decide who will train for Oman's next appearance at the regional collegiate programming stage in Egypt this December.

📌 Key Takeaways

• According to MTCIT, SQU's "Where is OCPC?" team won, SQU's "Al-Qassam" team came second and GUtech's "Fsociety" team placed third.
• The ministry says 48 teams and 144 contestants competed on 20 and 21 October 2026.
• The contest's general supervisor told Muscat Daily that the top teams qualify for an international competition in Egypt in December. He said the ministry will run specialised training camps for them first.
• The podium matches 2025's: SQU first and second, GUtech third. One of this year's champions was on SQU's second-placed team in 2025.
• The contest is part of the Oman Coding Race 2026, delivered under Makeen, the national digital skills initiative.

🆕 What's New Since the Opening Day

When we covered the start of the final in 48 Teams, 1 Ticket to Egypt: Oman's University Coding Final, the winners had not been announced. MTCIT has now published the final standings, the team rosters and coaches, the partner list and who was at the closing ceremony. The ministry says the closing ceremony was held under the patronage of H.E. Dr Saif bin Abdullah bin Sulaiman Al Hadabi, Head of the Research and Innovation Authority, and that H.E. Dr Ali bin Amer Al Shidhani, Undersecretary for Communications and Information Technology, attended.

🏆 The 2026 Podium

Here are the winning teams as listed in the official MTCIT announcement:

One coach, Abdullah Al-Hamdani, trained both SQU teams. MTCIT has not said what prize money was awarded this year.

🔁 The Same Podium, With a Change at the Top

The order matches last year's. In the 2025 results, SQU's Team Enigma won, SQU's Team Libre came second and GUtech's Team Al-Istiqama came third. Those three teams were selected to represent Oman at the regional contest in Egypt.

There is also a link between the two years. Qais Al Badawi was on 2025's second-placed Libre team and is now on the 2026 winning team. That suggests SQU is keeping experienced competitors and building on them, rather than starting again each year.

The field was smaller than last year's. MTCIT reported 194 contestants in 65 teams from 21 universities and colleges in 2025, and the winning teams shared OMR 6,750 in prizes. This year's announcement lists 48 teams and 144 contestants, but no institution count or prize pool. The format and qualifying rounds may differ between the two years, so the numbers are not a clean like-for-like comparison.

🤝 Who Backed the 2026 Edition

MTCIT lists four partners for this year's contest:

• OQ: strategic partner. In 2025 it was the technical partner.
• Sohar International: official partner
• Oman Energy Association (OPAL): technical partner
• Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA): silver partner

The sponsors now include a bank, an energy industry body and the telecom regulator. That points to employers outside pure tech companies taking an interest in where Oman's strongest young programmers end up.

🛫 Next Stop: Training Camps and Egypt

Mahmoud bin Saeed Al Mujaini, the contest's general supervisor, told Muscat Daily that the top-performing teams will qualify for the international competition in Egypt in December. He said three Omani teams qualify each year. He added that the ministry will run specialised training camps for the winners, covering programming skills, teamwork and handling technical challenges.

MTCIT has not yet named the teams going to Egypt or given dates and venues for the camps. Last year the top three were chosen, so the SQU and GUtech teams above are the likely candidates. Readers should wait for the official confirmation.

📈 Where This Fits in Oman's Talent Pipeline

The ministry says the OCPC is part of the Oman Coding Race 2026, delivered by Code Academy under Makeen. Makeen is a large programme. MTCIT's five-year review in April 2026 reported more than 11,000 trainees, 139 programmes in over 30 technology fields and a 50% employment rate in its tech bootcamps. The next phase aims to prepare 10,000 jobseekers over five years and add programmes in AI agents and quantum computing.

Competitive programming is a narrow skill. Solving algorithm problems against the clock is not the same as shipping production software, building data platforms or securing networks. Still, it is a useful way to spot students who can reason quickly under pressure. Employers are hiring for that alongside the industry-specific schemes, such as PDO's AI talent programme with SAP.

There is also a weakness. Two years of SQU first and second places with GUtech third suggests top-level coaching is concentrated in a few institutions. The bigger test for the national programme is whether students from other universities and colleges start reaching the podium.

🇴🇲 Why This Matters for Oman

Oman Vision 2040 depends on a knowledge-based digital economy, and that economy needs engineers who can solve hard problems, not only use ready-made tools. The 2026 OCPC results show a small group of Omani university programmers improving year to year, with the government committed to training them before they compete abroad. How they do in Egypt in December will show whether national coaching is closing the gap with regional rivals. For Muscat employers, the published rosters list programmers who have just been tested publicly on some of the hardest problems in the field.