2020 International Mathematical Olympiad: Special competition in history

Hanoi (VNA) – In 2020, for the first time in history, the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is organised in the online format. It is also the first time Vietnam has sent a 10th grader to the competition.

The 61st International Mathematical Olympiad is being hosted by Russia. The opening ceremony took place solemnly on September 21 in all participating countries and territories via video conference due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Vietnam, the event was held at the University of Natural Sciences under the Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Together with the participation of representatives from the Ministry of Education and Training, the Vietnam Mathematical Society and the University of Natural Sciences and members of the Vietnamese Mathematical Olympiad team, the opening ceremony also saw the presence of representatives from the host country: Alexander Maslov, First Secretary at the Russian Embassy in Vietnam and Vishnitskaya Elena, Acting Director of the Embassy’s Russian Centre of Culture and Science.

Special competition

Mai Van Trinh, Director of the Quality Control Department under the Ministry of Education and Training and head of the competition council in Vietnam, said that compared with an initial plan to cancel the competition, the organising board’s decision to organise it online at all participating countries and territories helps contestants have a chance to challenge themselves and shine at the most prestigious competition of the world.

“This is a special and unprecedented contest in the history of the International Mathematical Olympiad,” said Trinh.

According to the official, to ensure the quality of the online competition, participating countries and territories should meet all requirements of the International Mathematical Olympiad as well as the host country. In Vietnam, the University of Natural Sciences is selected to organise the event.

Rector of the University of Natural Sciences Associate Prof. Dr. Vu Hoang Linh said that despite a short time, the university has tried its utmost to make thorough preparations in terms of infrastructure and technical equipment to meet the requirements of the organising board and Russia.

The university paid special attention to arranging seats to make contestants feel comfortable and at the same time ensure the contest’s regulations.

Regarding the online format, Head of IMO Vietnam Associate Prof. Le Anh Vinh said that the exam’s questions are sent to IMO heads before three hours, who then translate the questions via specialised software of the organising board. After being approved by the organising board, the exam’s questions are printed 30 minutes before the exam time is counted.

Vinh added that taking an online exam is more convenient for contestants as they can compete at home and have a two-month training period.


For the first time, Vietnam’s IMO team has a 10th grader

This year’s competition is also special to Vietnam as this is also the first time the Vietnamese team has had the presence of a 10th grader who overcame two rounds of selection to win one among six tickets to the International Mathematical Olympiad. The outstanding student is Ngo Quy Dang from the school for talented students under the University of Natural Sciences.

“One 10th grader joining the team is unprecedented in Vietnam,” said Le Cong Loi, principal of the school for talented students under the University of Natural Sciences.

According to Loi, Dang passed into both Physics and Math classes of the school. After just several first days, teachers detected his special capacity and allowed him to attend the IMO team as an observer. He then kept up with 11th and 12th graders and won an official seat of the team.

When in his secondary school, Dang also won many international titles, such as a silver medal at the 2015 International Mathematics Competition (IMC), the championship at the 2016 Asia Pacific Mathematical Olympiad for Primary School (APMOPS), the gold prize at the 2016 International Mathematics and Science Olympiad and the 2017 Singapore and Asian Schools Math Olympiad (SASMO).

Together with Dang, this year’s IMO team has two 11th graders and three 12th graders.

Trinh said that the IMO was the first international Olympiad that Vietnam participated in (1974)./.