A journey to the International Mathematical Olympiad

Supporting young maths talents is a priority for many members of Mathematics Münster. Tianyiwa Xie, a doctoral researcher in Prof. Franziska Jahnke’s research group, accompanied the Irish team to China for the International Mathematical Olympiad in July. Here, she shares her impressions. 

"This year, the 67th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) was held in Shanghai, China, where 666 contestants from 117 countries took two 4.5-hour examinations, tackling 6 challenging problems requiring creativity and exceptional problem-solving skills.

I had the privilege of serving as deputy leader of the Irish team, alongside team leader Professor Steve Buckley of Maynooth University and Dr Mark Flanagan of University College Dublin. The Irish team achieved one silver medal and two bronze medals, which was the second-best performance by an Irish team in the history of the IMO.
Germany also performed strongly, with one gold medal, two silver medals, and three bronze medals, placing 19th overall among the participating countries.

International Mathematics Summer Camp
Before the official IMO, I also led the Irish team at the International Mathematics Summer Camp, jointly organised by the Beijing Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Applications, the Yau Mathematical Sciences Center, and Tsinghua University. The organising committee was chaired by Fields Medalist Professor Shing-Tung Yau, who also delivered a speech at the opening ceremony.

One of the highlights of the camp was seeing the Irish students work together to solve an open problem in a single afternoon:
Q: What is the maximum side length of a square such that four non-overlapping, congruent copies of it can be packed inside a unit circle?

IMO provided a wonderful opportunity for students to build lasting friendships and develop their problem-solving skills. Watching the students grow both mathematically and personally over the course of the summer was a vivid reminder of the important role that the Mathematical Olympiad can play in nurturing the next generation of mathematicians, inspiring young people to engage with mathematics, and promoting mathematics outreach more broadly."