Mathematics in focus: Economics students face global challenge for Vega Awards

On Thursday, 16 March 2023, at the Faculty of Economics in Ljubljana, the mathematics competition for the Vega Prize took place, with the participation of many students seeking a challenge. The competition was organised by the International Mathematical Kangaroo (IMK), which has been operating in Australia since 1981 and was introduced in Europe in 1991. The competition is held simultaneously in more than 30 countries around the world, where students compete with peers from different cultural backgrounds.

As the coordinator of the competition at the Faculty of Economics, prof. dr. Damjana Kokol Bukovšek, explains, the primary purpose of the competition is to educate and inform. “We spread a basic mathematical culture and create a reliable tool for comparison on a global level”, she said. The IMK competition is an alternative to traditional mathematical games because it includes different types of tasks that require a different ability to think and reason. “There are many more multiple-answer problems that require much more reasoning skills, which is not typical of mathematics”, she added.

The competition takes place at different levels, from school competitions where bronze awards are given to the best competitors to national competitions where the best students from different faculties compete against each other. “Receiving a gold award is not only a personal honour, but also a confirmation of academic success, which is considered an achievement for the Zois Scholarship”, the coordinator explained.

The coordinator also urged students to participate in future competitions, as more participants mean more gold medals. “Above all, students should not be afraid of mathematics. This type of competition does not require deep academic knowledge, just a desire for a challenge, especially if they can think logically. Mathematics can become the most beautiful game in the world, it is just often forgotten”, concluded prof. dr. Kokol Bukovšek.

The Vega Prize Mathematics Competition is therefore an excellent opportunity for all students who want to develop their mathematical skills and have fun at the same time. Participation in the competition not only enables the acquisition of new knowledge, but also encourages creative thinking and solving challenges in an innovative way. We therefore wish all our economics students who participated in the competition success  in their further studies!

Christian Lasalvia, EFnews

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