International Mathematics Competition

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The International Mathematics Competition (IMC) for University Students is an annual mathematics competition open to all undergraduate students of mathematics. [1] Participating students are expected to be at most twenty three years of age at the time of the IMC. The IMC is primarily a competition for individuals, although most participating universities select and send one or more teams of students. The working language is English.

Contents

The IMC is a residential competition and all student participants are required to stay in the accommodation provided by the organisers. It aims to provide a friendly, comfortable and secure environment for university mathematics students to enjoy mathematics with their peers from all around the world, to broaden their world perspective and to be inspired to set mathematical goals for themselves that might not have been previously imaginable or thought possible. Notably, in 2018 Caucher Birkar (born Fereydoun Derakhshani), an Iranian Kurdish mathematician, who participated in the 7th IMC [2] held at University College London in 2000, received mathematics' most prestigious award, the Fields Medal. [3] [4] He is now a professor at Tsinghua University and at the University of Cambridge. In 2022 a Kyiv-born mathematician, Maryna Viazovska, was also awarded the Fields Medal. [5] She participated in the IMC as a student four times, in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. She is now a Professor and the Chair of Number Theory at the Institute of Mathematics of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland.

Students from over 200 universities from over 50 countries have participated over the first thirty competitions. At the 29th IMC in 2022 participants were awarded Individual Result Prizes, Fair Play Prizes and Most Efficient Team Leader Prizes. [6]

University College London [7] has been involved in the organisation of the IMC and Professor John E. Jayne [8] has served as the President from the beginning in 1994. The IMC runs over five or six days during which the competitors sit two five-hour examinations, each with five questions (six until 2008) chosen by a panel and representatives from the participating universities. Problems are from the fields of Algebra, Analysis (Real and Complex), Combinatorics and Geometry. [9]

History

The IMC began in 1994 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, with 49 participants, mostly from Bulgaria, and was hosted by Plovdiv University "Paisii Hilendarski". The 2nd, 3rd and 4th IMC were also hosted by Plovdiv University "Paisii Hilendarski" in Plovdiv. From 1996 to 1999 the IMC was one of the activities of the Structural Joint European Union TEMPUS Project #S_JEP-11087-96, entitled "Modular Education in Mathematics and Informatics", [10] which was the flag ship European Union TEMPUS Project [11] in Bulgaria at the time, aimed at bringing Bulgaria's university mathematics and computing degree programs into line with those in the European Union in preparation for Bulgaria's entry into the European Union. University College London was the Contractor for this European Union TEMPUS Project and Professor Jayne was the Coordinator of the Project. In 1998 the 5th IMC was moved to Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, and was hosted by both the South-West University "Neofit Rilski" in Blagoevgrad and the American University in Bulgaria. The 5th IMC had 80 participants from 9 countries. [12]

The 6th IMC was hosted by Eötvös Loránd University and held on Lake Balaton in Keszthely, Hungary, the 7th IMC was hosted by University College London in London, the 8th IMC was hosted by Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, the 9th IMC was hosted by the University of Warsaw in Warsaw, Poland, the 10th IMC was hosted by Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, the 11th IMC was hosted by Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje in Skopje, Macedonia, the 12th IMC was hosted by American University in Bulgaria in Blagoevgrad, the 13th IMC was hosted by Odesa University in Odesa, Ukraine, the 14th IMC and 15th IMC were again hosted by the American University in Bulgaria in Blagoevgrad, and the 16th IMC was hosted by the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. In 2009 the 16th IMC had 347 student participants and 65 teams. Since 2010 the IMC has been hosted by the American University in Bulgaria, in Blagoevgrad, with assistance from the South-West University "Neofit Rilski" in Blagoevgrad. [13] The 26th IMC had 360 student participants and 77 teams. [14] The 27th and 28th IMCs were held on-line due to the global pandemic. The 29th IMC was hybrid with both in-person and on-line participants. It had 663 student participants and 100 teams. [15] The 30th IMC returned to being on only in-person event. It had 393 student participants and 72 teams. [16] The 31st IMC had 401 student participants, and 82 team leaders from 52 countries. [17]

Notable Past Award Winners

Summary

Number
Year
Host City
Host Country
Dates
1stIMC 1994 Plovdiv Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 28 July–2 August
2ndIMC 1995 Plovdiv Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 2–7 August
3rdIMC 1996 Plovdiv Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 31 July–5 August
4thIMC 1997 Plovdiv Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 30 July–4 August
5thIMC 1998 Blagoevgrad Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 29 July–3 August
6thIMC 1999 Keszthely Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 29 July–2 August
7thIMC 2000 London Flag of England.svg  England 26–31 July
8thIMC 2001 Prague Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 19–25 July
9thIMC 2002 Warsaw Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 19–25 July
10thIMC 2003 Cluj-Napoca Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 25–31 July
11thIMC 2004 Skopje Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia 23–29 July
12thIMC 2005 Blagoevgrad Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 22–28 July
13thIMC 2006 Odesa Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 20–26 July
14thIMC 2007 Blagoevgrad Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 3–9 August
15thIMC 2008 Blagoevgrad Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 25–31 July
16thIMC 2009 Budapest Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 25–30 July
17thIMC 2010 Blagoevgrad Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 24–30 July
18thIMC 2011 Blagoevgrad Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 28 July–3 August
19thIMC 2012 Blagoevgrad Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 26 July–1 August
20thIMC 2013 Blagoevgrad Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 6–12 August
21stIMC 2014 Blagoevgrad Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 29 July–4 August
22ndIMC 2015 Blagoevgrad Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 27 July–2 August
23rdIMC 2016 Blagoevgrad Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 25–31 July
24thIMC 2017 Blagoevgrad Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 31 July–6 August
25thIMC 2018 Blagoevgrad Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 22–28 July
26thIMC 2019 Blagoevgrad Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 28 July–3 August
27thIMC 2020ON-LINEON-LINE25–30 July
28thIMC 2021ON-LINEON-LINE2–7 August
29thIMC 2022 Blagoevgrad Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 1–7 August
30thIMC 2023 Blagoevgrad Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 31 July–6 August
31stIMC 2024 Blagoevgrad Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 05 August–11 August
32ndIMC 2025 Blagoevgrad Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 28 July–03 August

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Welcome to the IMC2018!". imc-math.ddns.net. 28 July 2018. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  2. ↑ Draganova, C. "IMC – International Mathematics Competition for University Students". ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  3. ↑ "Former IMC participant among winners of Fields medal – the 'Nobel prize for maths'". The Guardian. 1 August 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  4. ↑ "International Congress of Mathematicians, Fields Medalists". uicm2018.org. 2 August 2018. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  5. ↑ Davis, Nicola; Sample, Ian (21 October 2022). "Fields medal: Kyiv-born professor and Oxford expert among winners". TheGuardian.com . Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  6. ↑ "Prizes/Closing Ceremony IMC 2022". imc-math.org.uk. 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  7. ↑ "UCL London's Global University". ucl.ac.uk. 5 November 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  8. ↑ "J E Jayne UCL Home Page". ucl.ac.uk. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  9. ↑ "Problems & Solutions IMC 2019". imc-math.org.uk. 28 July 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  10. ↑ "Structural Joint European Project #S_JEP-11087-96". ucl.ac.uk. 9 January 1996. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  11. ↑ "EU Tempus Programme". eacea.ec.europa.eu. 1 January 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  12. ↑ "Fifth IMC 1998". imc-math.org.uk. 28 July 1998. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  13. ↑ "Blagoevgrad hosts IMC". bnr.bg. 23 July 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  14. ↑ "Participants and Teams IMC 2019". imc-math.org.uk. 28 July 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  15. ↑ "Participants and Teams IMC 2022". imc-math.org.uk. 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  16. ↑ "Participants and Teams IMC 2023". imc-math.org.uk. 2 October 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  17. ↑ "Participants and Teams IMC 2024". imc-math.org.uk. 7 November 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
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