Dhaneshwar Dalian Sunder is a Grade 12 learner from Star College and was chosen as one of six High School learners to don a green blazer for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO)this year.
A Maths student from Mr Akingi at Star College in Durban, this young man plans to follow a career in Actuarial Science but his immediate goal is to bring back a medal next month.
“Preferably a gold medal,” he says. “Being a part of the South African team who will represent South Africa in Argentina next month is an honour and I look forward to the trip. Although it is hard work that comes with a lot of pressure to perform well, it is also fun and we get to meet so many other boys and girls that share our passion – Maths.”
Dalian has been taking part in both the South African Mathematics Olympiad (SAMO) and the IMO for a number of years now. “Last year we were in the Netherlands and the SA team had a good overall score. We were in the top 50 countries that took part which is a real achievement.”
But what exactly is this IMO? It is a World Championship Mathematics Competition for High School students that was held for the first time in 1959 in Romania. Seven countries participated in the first competition while more than 100 countries will be participating this year.
“The problems that participants face during the competition come from various areas of mathematics,” explains Dalian. “And the key to finding the solutions of these problems requires exceptional mathematical ability and knowledge.”
This does not mean that he and his team mates sit around and talk about the weather all day, on the contrary. “We attend training camps throughout the year and endless practice sessions in the months leading up to the competition. If you want to exceed in the IMO it takes hours of working through past papers every week. Each person in the team does this in addition to our normal school work and extra mural activities.”
Typical topics covered in the problems that students will be facing during the IMO include fundamental theorems on Arithmetic as well as Algebra, graph theory and also Geometry. The actual competition spans over two days with one paper on each day. Each paper consists of three problems and participants have four and a half hours to complete it. Based on relative performance the students are then awarded gold medals, silver medals, bronze medals and certificates of honourable mention.
“We all look forward to leaving for Argentina on 6 July and would like to thank our sponsor, Harmony Gold Mining Company, for covering our travel costs and the expenses towards our training camps,” Dalian concludes.
Prof Johann Engelbrecht, Executive Director of the South African Mathematics Foundation (SAMF), the organisation responsible for co-ordinating the team’s participation, wishes Dalian and his team mates best of luck. “To represent your country at the IMO is like achieving national colours in any sport and we are proud of you all.”
The team, who will be back in South African on 19 July, will be accompanied by Maciek Stankiewicz (leader, University of Cape Town) and Dr Koos van Zyl (deputy leader, Rhodes University).
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