The 7th edition of the European Girls Mathematical Olympiad took place on 9-15 April 2018 in Florence. This annual competition aims to help motivate and train a new generation of female mathematicians. The level of participation has continued to increase, with 52 countries (of which 36 official European) sending a team.
The contest consists in two days of 4 1/2 hour exams, and each exam consists of three difficult problems. Solving even just one problem in the competition is a great achievement and is rewarded with honourable mention.
Ireland has participated in EGMO from its first edition and this year it again sent a team of secondary school students. Even though all 4 contestants on team Ireland were first time participants in 2018, they performed very well: three of them earned honourable mentions for completing a problem during the competition; the 4th team member, although narrowly missing a honourable mention, obtained the highest score of the team.
The students representing Ireland at EGMO 2018 were:
Ju Hyun Ahn, 4th year student from Alexandra College, Dublin
Tianyiwa Xie, 4th year student from Alexandra College, Dublin
Yixin Huang, 5th year student from Alexandra College, Dublin.
Laura Cosgrave, 4th year student from Midleton College, Co. Cork
We wish them all success in future mathematical endeavors.
The students on team Ireland were selected following a national competition held in IMT centres across the country on 24th February. The selection, training and travel of the team was organised by the Irish Mathematical Trust with support from Science Foundation Ireland and Smart Futures through as SFI Discover grant. The IMT is grateful to the sponsors for their support. #beliveinscience.