International maths and informatics Olympiad teams off to competition, virtually

The Australian international maths and informatics Olympiad teams have been named after being merit-selected following an annual program of high-level competitions, rigorous training schools and mentoring.

The teams will be competing virtually against approximately 100 countries in the 62nd International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) and 80 countries in the 33rd International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI).

The Australian Maths Trust (AMT) CEO, Nathan Ford expressed his excitement, “We have seen some amazing talent come out of the Olympiad program and we know that exposure to international competition builds on these young students’ innate talents, perseverance and creativity. I wish the IMO and IOI teams the best of luck in their competitions this year.”

“We are also thrilled to see Ruiying Wu selected to the IMO team. She has been a dedicated team member of our European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad teams in 2020 and 2021 and I congratulate her on her selection as the first young woman participating in an Australian IMO team since 2016,” said Nathan.

The IMO and IOI Directors of Training are key to the success of the program and IMO Director of Training, Angelo Di Pasquale, said, “The members of the team are truly passionate about mathematics and problem solving and I am proud of the effort they have put in over the years to get this far.

“Training and preparation are one thing. The reality of competing on the international stage mixing it with the world’s best is another. My hope is that they realise their potential at the Olympiad by performing according to what we know they can really do,” he said.

AMT’s Olympiad programs are supported by the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources through the Science Competitions: Mathematics and Informatics Olympiads grant opportunity. The Olympiad programs are also supported by the National Sponsor of the Australian Informatics and Mathematical Olympiads, Optiver.

The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is a mathematical Olympiad for pre-university students and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959.

The content ranges from extremely difficult algebra and pre-calculus problems to problems on branches of mathematics not conventionally covered at school and often not at university level either, such as projective and complex geometry, functional equations, combinatorics, and well-grounded number theory, of which extensive knowledge of theorems is needed.

The International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) sees exceptional high school students from various countries compete in the prestigious algorithmic competition to sharpen their informatics skills – such as problem analysis, design of algorithms and data structures, programming, and testing. Each participating country selects a team of up to four contestants to represent their nation in the two-day event.