Stacey Tian: IMO 2017 Brazil Report

This year from the 12th to the 23rd of July, the International Mathematical Olympiad was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Olympiad was a wonderful experience that allowed me to meet young mathematicians from all over the world and get to know them and their passion for maths. Over two days, we sat two 4 and a half hour exams consisting of three questions each. I solved the first and fourth question and managed to get a free point in the second question by guessing the answer. From this, I gained 15 points, which was one point away from the bronze medal cutoff of 16. This was a bit disappointing but I did the best I could so there is nothing to regret.

During the event, we stayed at the Windsor Oceanico hotel and the competition was held there too. All contestants roomed in groups of three and since I was the only girl on the New Zealand team, I shared a room with two Irish girls. This was a wonderful opportunity for me to easily get to know contestants from other countries, despite the fact that they often slept until 9am while we had breakfast at 7am and I went to bed by 11pm and they did not even come back to our room until at least 12am. Nevertheless, I loved being around other girls doing Olympiad maths, which was a rarity in New Zealand. At the hotel, all our meals were also provided for. This was a buffet with a range of choices.

We were also assigned a guide who made sure we did the right things at the right time and also took us out for excursions. New Zealand’s guide was Leticia. She was truly amazing during the whole event and kept me company when the boys would do nothing but talk about maths. On the afternoon of the last day of the competition, she took us to the lego expo, which was done by an artist who used lego as his medium. His pieces were both touching and visually stunning. The next day, we had no official excursions organised so Leticia took us to see the Sugarloaf Mountain. Initially the weather was quite bad and the view seemed to be terrible however, it soon cleared up, giving us a panoramic view of the city. We also met the British team there. That afternoon, we had a photo on the Barra beach of all the contestants together and also one afterwards of only the female contestants. We had official excursions the day after, which included seeing the Olympic Boulevard, Maracana Stadium and the lagoon. Finally, on the last day, we went to see Christ the Redeemer. It was such a majestic statue which was so much bigger at the base of it compared to seeing it from afar. Overall, these excursions around Rio de Janeiro led by Leticia were a highlight of the trip.

At the event, I was exposed to a variety of different people passionate about science and technology which has changed my perspective on the subjects. Through the Round Table with various women working within STEM subjects and a lecture by Fields Medalist, Artur Avila, we were able to see the different careers that mathematics can take us. These included both academia and industry. However, they also showed us that the skills learnt from doing maths or other subjects within science are applicable in other areas too. The logical thinking and analysis skills are transferable, being useful no matter what career is in question.

Meeting so many people who were so enthusiastic about science and technology and who were extremely happy with their careers within these areas has also shown me how enjoyable the sciences can be. We met those who worked within research or pure mathematics as well as those who worked through applied mathematics. This demonstrated the wide range of careers within mathematics, proving to me that it is likely that there is a career within STEM for me too.

Through the exposure to so many different people who all loved mathematics in their own way, I have found that I could also appreciate maths more. Before attending, I felt like I was the only one who was not completely in love with maths; I enjoyed doing problems but discussing theories bored me. Therefore I did not truly feel as though the sciences and technology for me since I did not have the passion for all aspects of maths. However, one of my roommates had the same mindset as me and many others at the event had lives outside of maths. Despite being at the International Mathematical Olympiad, I found that the students attending were truly diverse in their feelings towards the sciences and technology. This made me realise that my lack of joy from discussing complex maths theories did not and should not hinder my passion for other aspects of the sciences and technology. Furthermore, I found that I was not the only one who felt this way about mathematics, making me more confident in my different enjoyment of the sciences and technology.

One of the most significant aspects of attending the International Mathematical Olympiad was that I learnt important things about myself. I have always been quite competitive and found that if I did not “win”, I did not enjoy the experience. When I was younger, succeeding was more important to me than having fun. However, at the Olympiad, despite not “succeeding” or getting a medal, I found that I loved my time there just the same. It wasn’t the prizes that brought me joy but the experience of meeting people from all over the world, from Norway to Mexico. The highlights of the trip included discovering Rio de Janeiro as a city, not the final results of the exams. This was one of the first times where I’ve found that I focused on enjoying myself instead of thinking only of grades and scores.

What I enjoyed most was giving away souvenirs from New Zealand to those from other countries. We brought pens, magnets, keychains and stickers. Watching the looks on their faces change from confusion to joy was priceless and will be in my memory forever. There was something so nice about giving away something from our country and in some cases, receiving something from theirs. It also left something tangible to help keep hold memories of the event. I also found the inability of certain teammates to give away these souvenirs quite entertaining. Tony, despite playing fooseball with various different people every night, had half a bag left over on the night of closing ceremony, which Leticia and I had to give away. William had handed me all the “bad” souvenirs such as the fridge magnets a couple of days before the end of the IMO because they were “too hard” to give away since “no one would want them”. However, despite offering to help with the rest of his bag of souvenirs multiple times following the actual competition, he insisted he would do it himself. He didn’t. Instead, at 5am on the morning the team was leaving, he handed me the other half of his bag! Experiencing these funny little moments with the team was also very enjoyable for me.

Ultimately, this competition gave me the chance to meet those all over the world who are all passionate about mathematics. It gave me the opportunity to measure my skills against others while also allowing me to discover new cultures. Unfortunately I am in my final year of school and will be unable to attend another IMO but this trip has changed me forever. I want to thank the Royal Society and NZMET for their support and sponsorship of the team for the 2017 IMO Competition.