Limerick student scoops top prize at Mathematical Olympiad
A LIMERICK student has been awarded first place at the Limerick Mathematical Olympiad 2022.
The Castletroy College student won the top prize at the competition ahead of a three-way split of second place shared between Castletroy College’s Myron Butler, Kilrush Community School’s Nikodem Dutkiewicz and Aaron Waldron of Mungret Community College.
Third place was awarded to Diego Sun from Glenstal Abbey, Murroe.
Organised by the Mathematics Departments at Mary Immaculate College and University of Limerick, the Limerick Mathematical Olympiad s a preparation contest for the nationwide Irish Mathematical Olympiad which his held annually in early May.
The best students in the national Olympiad qualify for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), which takes place this year in Oslo in July.
The IMO is the most prestigious mathematical contest for second-level students in the world.
Ireland has been represented every year since 1988 with two silver medals to date; one for Glenstal Abbey School’s Lucas Bachmann in 2019, and earlier to Meath student Fiachra Knox in 2005.
Speaking on the competitive nature of this event, Dr Bernd Kreussler, Maths Lecturer at Mary Immaculate College, said: "In order to have any chance of scoring even a few marks at the two four-and-a-half-hour exams at the IMO, students have to undertake an intense training course which focuses on problem solving.
"It is important to start early with such training, because problem solving is based more on experience and independent thinking than on the knowledge of facts. Some changes in school curricula made in recent years aim at better development of problem-solving skills. However, this is not sufficient.
"To enable the most talented students to achieve their full potential, more students from Primary School and Junior Cycle of Secondary School need to get involved in after-school activities where they face challenging maths problems."