Karol Daniewski, a current Year 12 student, has participated in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) representing his home country, Poland. The IMO is a World Championship Mathematics Competition for High School students and is held annually. This competition was first hosted in Romania, 1959, throughout the years it has become a significant event for young mathematicians all around the globe.

 

“This is a three-stages competition.” Said Karol, “The questions can take hours and hours to solve. This is what I find extremely fascinating.”

 

Karol, among the other participants of the competition, was given 12 maths questions to solve across September, October and November. The answers and their working out methods will be sent to the committee, who will invite the top thousand young mathematicians in the country to perform in the second stage.

 

The second stage of the International Mathematical Olympiad is a two-day competition, held among the 600 test centres located over the world. The candidates will be given 5 hours to complete 3 questions per day, each question is worth 6 marks; the overall maximum available point is 36.

 

“I have participated in the International Junior Mathematical Competition when I was in year 9 and I managed to reach top 10 in the country. I went to training programs where I represented Poland in international competitions” According to Karol, reflecting on his previous performances. “During my first year of High School, I was, unfortunately, 3 points away from entering the third stage. This year I hope to push myself to an even further level.”

 

Karol further comments on his passion.

 

“The IMO, for me as a maths lover, is incredibly interesting, exhilarating and it gives me so much joy that it is absolutely amazing. Furthermore, I also encourage everyone to explore in their academic interest, because one will never realise how capable they are until being challenged to the best of their abilities, and everyone has potentials to do so.”