Trinity Students Win National Programming Contest

Source: Trinity College Cambridge News

TRINITY STUDENTS WIN NATIONAL PROGRAMMING CONTEST

Published Date: October 25, 2018

Teams of Trinity Computer Science and Maths students scooped first, second and third place in the UK/IE Programming Contest out of over 150 teams from across the UK and Ireland.

The annual competition – held at several UK and Irish universities – aims to help universities select teams to attend the Northwestern Europe Programming Contest later this autumn. These competitions are designed to test students’ programming skills, problem solving and team work.

Each team comprises three students who try to solve as many problems as possible from a given problem set, using one computer.

Trinity Fellow, Professor Frank Stajano, said:

This was an amazing result. Out of all the 150+ undergraduate teams that took part, the top four places went to Cambridge and, of these, the best three teams in UK and Ireland are from Trinity!

In first place was the Triniceratops team, with Kacper Walentynowicz, Paweł Burzyński and Mariusz Trela.

In second place, team Treenity, with David Wärn, Jeck Lim and Zoltán Molnár Sáska.

In third place, team Me[♠]talci, with Dimitrije Erdeljan, Dušan Živanović and Vladimir Milenković.

Trinity teams hard at work during the contest

Kacper Walentynowicz, who captained Triniceratops, said it was a ‘one-of-its-kind experience to wake up as UK and Ireland Programming Contest Champion.’

Such competitions are normally very stressful, said Kacper.  ‘There are millions of things that can possibly go wrong during the competition and they usually prevent you from just having fun. However, this time everything went so smoothly for us that we didn’t feel uncomfortable at all (maaaybe at the very beginning only).’

Kacper and his peers – the Triniceratops team was Polish – have taken part in programming competitions before and found that it’s not all about winning.

It is not success that motivates you to push yourself but the pleasure of solving interesting challenges and stretching your brain.

That was also true this time – winning is cool, but if it was just about winning, I wouldn’t delve into programming. It’s just fun from the beginning till the end.

Other Trinity computer science students who took part, did well, said Professor Stajano, who founded the Inter-ACE and Cambridge2Cambridge cyber security competitions, the latter in collaboration with MIT.

‘Cambridge has always been a worthy force in competitive programming, but such strong performance from a single College has never been seen before. In particular, Triniceratops should be highly commended for achieving a full score – 12 out of 12 problems solved,’ he said.Trinity PhD student, Petar Veličković, a former competitor-turned-organiser, said that hosting the Cambridge site for the competition this year was challenging but very rewarding.

I am hopeful that our teams will repeat this outstanding performance at the Northwestern Europe regionals, which would qualify an all-Trinity team for the ACM-ICPC World Finals for a second year in a row.’

~~~
Update:
2018 UK & Ireland Programming Contest Results

Singapore students win three silvers and one bronze at IOI 2017

Source: NUS School of Computing News

From left: Ranald Lam, Dr. Steven Halim, Lim Li, Huang Xing Chen, Pang Wen Yuen, Zhang Guangxuan, Eileen Moh, and Dr. Tan Sun Teck

18 August 2017 – Team Singapore won three silver medals and one bronze at the 2017 International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI 2017) that was held from 28th July to 4th August, in Tehran, Iran.

Second year Junior College students Zhang Guangxuan (Raffles Institution), Pang Wen Yuen, (Raffles Institution), and Lim Li (NUS High School) each won silver medals, and first year Junior College student Huang Xing Chen, (NUS High School) won a bronze. Collectively, Singapore placed 21st, in a field of 308 contestants from 83 countries.

NUS Computing faculty members and students have coached Singapore school and college students for IOI, as well as the IOI qualifying competitions, the National Olympiad in Informatics (NOI) and the Asia-Pacific Informatics Olympiad (APIO), for 25 years. Team Leader, Dr. Steven Halim, who coordinates NUS Computing’s competitive programming centre, said, “We were hoping to get at least a gold medal but I am happy with Lim Li’s achievement, being the first female Singapore IOI medallist. I hope that that will inspire more girls to take up competitive programming.”

Besides faculty members like Dr. Halim, and IOI International Committee member Dr. Tan Sun Teck, a number of NUS Computing students are involved in the coaching and organisation of IOI teams and contests, in the region and internationally. First year Computer Science (CS) student Ranald Lam (2014 IOI gold medallist) was Team Singapore’s coach this year, and will be a member of the IOI’s International Technical Committee in February 2018. Second year CS student Gan Wei Liang, who was last year’s coach, will be a member of IOI’s International Scientific Committee, along with recent CS graduate, Jonathan Irvin Gunawan, who was also the IOI coach for Indonesia. Also, second and third year CS students Boo Kai Hsien and Ho Yihang were the team leaders for the Malaysian IOI team. As a result of NUS Computing’s reputation and active involvement in international competitive programming, seven past IOI medallists from Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, India and Singapore, including Ranald Lam, joined NUS Computing this August.

About IOI: 
The International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) is an annual international informatics competition for high school students from around the world, and is one of the five international science olympiads. The primary goal of the IOI is to stimulate interest in informatics (computing science) and information technology. Each participating country is represented by a team of up to four contestants. Students compete individually, solving sets of informatics problems during two competition days, and participate in cultural and recreational events on the remaining days. 

On each of the 2 contest days, contestants are typically given 3 tasks and 5 hours to program working solutions to solve these tasks. The tasks are algorithmic, requiring contestants to demonstrate not only basic IT skills such as programming and testing, but also in-depth knowledge of designing algorithms, data structures and information theory. 

Every year, the four Singapore students with the best scores of in the National Olympiad in Informatics (NOI) and Asia-Pacific Informatics Olympiad (APIO) are selected to represent Singapore at IOI. Singapore students have been participating in IOI since 1992 and in 2020, NUS Computing will host IOI, on behalf of Singapore.

Internship with DSO

Source: Internship with DSO - CN Yang Scholars's Club

With many university undergraduates sourcing for internships in various industries, we are privileged to have Lim Min, a third year Mathematical Sciences major, share with us her experiences in DSO.

DSO National Laboratories (DSO) is Singapore’s one and only national defence R&D organisation. It innovates technological solutions to create the critical edge in the Singapore Armed Forces’ combat capabilities.

With more than 1,300 research scientists and engineers working seamlessly across the domains of air, land, sea and cyberspace, DSO researches into emerging technologies, matures promising ones and integrates them into innovative system concepts to meet Singapore’s defence and security capabilities.

Without further ado, let us find out more about Lim Min’s internship with DSO.

1. How did you first hear of DSO National Laboratories (DSO)?

While participating in activities of the CN Yang Scholars’ Club, I was approached by DSO Human Resources (HR) personnel who introduced me to the internship.

2. Why did you decide to join DSO’s internship?

The DSO internship was compatible with my schedule and I could rank my interests, allowing for the internship to be catered to my preferences. They also allowed me to intern at the end of Year 1, and not many companies/organisations allow that.

3. What were your roles as an intern? Did you join a lab? If so, how were the labs like?

I coded using C (programming). The aim of my internship was to build up a cryptographic library. My main task was to implement Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA), which is a cryptosystem, and elliptic curve Diffie-Hellman cryptographic functions. Throughout my internship, I learned many things like coding in C, safety measures to implement in codes, security standards, and different protocols.

4. How different is an internship at DSO compared to research in school labs?

In DSO, there are fellow interns whom you can discuss your project with, as compared to the individual research I did in school. This made things more exciting and interesting.

5. What were some highlights of your internship?

I was very well fed during my internship (laughs). But the main highlight would be learning more about mathematics and computing by talking to the supervisors and interns there. Some projects include automatic error detection for codes, noise reduction techniques for multiple purposes such as voice recording, underwater autonomous systems, Application Programme Interface (API) to track all registered ships, detection of hidden artillery etc. We were introduced to these systems and were also free to ask and find out more if we were interested in them.

6. What was the biggest takeaway?

I learned a lot from my project in DSO. Some of these include knowledge on the Diffie-Hellman key exchange, elliptic curve, RSA, various fast multiplication/squaring algorithms, use of Wireshark, certificates and more. They proved useful in the later modules I took in NTU (e.g. MH4311 Cryptography) and for Cryptanalysis studied at University College London during the semester exchange.

7. How are the skill sets learnt during your internship applicable to daily life?

I learnt how to interact with people of different ages and from different faculties and schools better. Since some of the interns were from overseas universities, I got to learn more about foreign cultures as well. This helps me in my daily interactions with people from diverse backgrounds.

8. What was your first impression of the internship? How did you eventually feel about your experience?

Initially, I thought that it would be a boring and mundane job where I would barely learn anything as I had heard from friends participating in internships where you only “photocopy papers” and complete administrative work. I was pleasantly surprised that the internship turned out to be the opposite. Not only did I learn a lot from my project, there were various presentations in DSO that gave me insights into other projects as well.

9. What was the most attractive feature of the DSO internship?

The intern pay is good (the best that I have come across so far) and the number of projects available is vast to cater to your interest.

10. How has the internship influenced your attitude towards future career prospects?

I had always thought that working would be stressful and boring, but DSO has shown me otherwise. It made me feel that working in DSO is a possible career option for me when I graduate.

11. How were your colleagues and supervisors? Was the focus more on independent or guided learning?

For me, it was more about independent learning. I’m not sure about my other fellow interns. From this independent learning, I got better at finding my own answers online (and not over-relying on others for help), which is especially important in Research and Development. But of course, my supervisor was there to ensure that I was on the right track through frequent updates, and help was readily available when I faced difficulties. They provided general directions to help me find answers and explained important concepts to me.

12. Are there any advantages to being a CN Yang scholar while interning in DSO?

Everything was relatively equal amongst all interns.

13. What attitudes would you advice others to adopt should they be interested in joining a similar internship?

Be independent and open-minded.

14. Bonus Question: How would you rate your experience at DSO (Scale of 1 to 10)?

10. We were given a lot of space and time to explore our interests. DSO was also very flexible, from working hours to pursuing our interests in our projects.

Throughout the various presentations I had seen and the interactions I made with the people there, I have always felt that DSO is quite an exciting place to work in. The technology and software they have developed there are all very interesting. These include drones (sea/air), image analysis (to detect the distance of an object from the camera, or whether a person is sitting/standing, or to detect vehicles/persons from a video footage etc.), automatic code repairing and more. I was and still am extremely interested in these initiatives. Before my internship in DSO, I would have never considered the existence of such technology but now, my thoughts on the possibilities of technology have broadened.

Many of my fellow interns at that time have graduated, and are now currently working in DSO. Not only do you get to do interesting work, DSO also provides a good work-life balance. There are flexible working hours (you can come later and leave later), and there are also various events held for you to bond with fellow colleagues or your family. Sports Hour is also available for staff to utilise any day of the week. During this period, office hours end slightly earlier for you to play sports with your fellow colleagues. Also, during my time as an intern, there was a puzzle competition (which I took part in with other interns) among many events for National Day.

Cyber Defenders Discovery Camp 2015

Source: AsiaOne

S'pore 'will need more cyber defenders'

The winning team of the University/Polytechnic category at this year's Cyber Defenders Discovery Camp with Minister of State for Defence Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman at a hands-on cybersecurity exercise. From left: Ho Wei Xiong, 25, Lim Anyu, 25, Lim Min, 21, Erickson Tjoa, 24.  Photo: DSTA

As Singapore grows increasingly wired, more manpower will be needed to keep its online infrastructure safe from malicious attacks- and the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) is reaching out to young talents to ensure that the nation's cyber security is kept up to speed. 

"We will need more and more cyber-security engineers in Singapore, going forward," said DSTA cyber-security director Tan Ah Tuan.

He was speaking at the award ceremony of the third Cyber Defenders Discovery Camp held at the Singapore University of Technology and Design yesterday.

These camps for pre-university and tertiary students aim to raise awareness of cyber security and to interest them in a career within the field.

Twenty-two teams from junior colleges, polytechnics and universities took part in the three-day camp, which saw a record turnout of 323 students this year - three times that of the previous years.

Participants went for a two-day crash course on how cyber attacks are launched and how to defend against these attacks through firewalls and patching up server vulnerabilities.

They applied their skills at a competition yesterday, where each team had to defend its own servers and network while attacking the other teams' systems at the same time.

Minister of State for Defence Mohamad Maliki Osman, who was the guest of honour, said the camp was to search for "the best and brightest to be Singapore's future cyber defenders".

The nation's cyber-defence workforce and its skill sets must increase, said Dr Maliki, in order to stay ahead of cyber attackers.

Undergraduate Erickson Tjoa, 24, who was in the winning team in the university/polytechnic category, said the experience had made him more interested in cyber security. "I originally wanted to go into academia, but this field is more creative and exciting," said Mr Tjoa.

According to Mr Tan, agencies will require innovative and creative cyber defenders to fight the ever-growing threat of cyber attacks.

"We do offer internships to the teams who display aptitude in this area," said Mr Tan. That was the route Mr Elvin Poh took. The 27-year-old was a participant at the inaugural camp in 2012, and is now a cyber-defence engineer at DSTA's Cybersecurity Programme Centre.

"The camp was my first glimpse into the cyber-security world, where I developed my interest in learning how to protect systems," said Mr Poh.

~~~

Results:
Junior College/Integrated Programme category winner: Anderson Junior College University/Polytechnic category winner: Smuntunus team comprising undergraduate students from Singapore Management University, Nanyang Technological University and National University of Singapore (hence the team name smuntunus)

Team Smuntunus comprising members Erickson Tjoa (NTU), Lim Min (NTU), Lim An Yu (SMU) and Ho Wei Xiong (NUS) came in first in the University/Polytechnic category. They won S$8,000.

NTU Mathematical Sciences (MAS) Poster Girl

NTU SPMS Mathematical Sciences (MAS)

Lim Min is featured in the NTU SPMS Mathematical Sciences booklet

Australian Math Trust (AMC 2000-2012)

Source: Australian Math Trust (AMT) History - AMC 2000 - 2012

From 2008-2013, Lim Jeck has collected a total of 4 AMC Medal Awards, 6 Prize Awards and 4 Prudence Awards

The NTU Magazine: Hey! Jul - Aug 2013

Singapore Results for 2013 International Math and Science Olympiads

夺三金一银一铜 本地中学生林捷跻进国际奥数竞赛“光荣榜”

                                2013年08月02日《联合早报》

本地学生再度凭借优越的数理能力扬威国际奥林匹克竞赛。其中，来自新加坡国立大学数理中学的高二生林捷（18岁），今年更以三金一银一铜的佳绩，跻进数学竞赛“光荣榜”，成为表现最亮眼的新加坡参赛者。

自中二开始，林捷连续五年参加奥林匹克数学竞赛，在500多名参赛者当中，以优越的成绩排名第三。

在97个参赛国中，新加坡以一金五银的成绩，排名第六。

林捷受访时说，奥数的解题过程很好玩，比一般数学题更有挑战性。在经历了那么多年的比赛后，他觉得自己已有能力解答任何的奥林匹克竞赛问题。

他也说，申请大学时将考虑专攻数学或计算机科学，致力于往数理方面发展。

林捷在数理方面的特出表现也获得李显龙总理的注意，并在去年国庆群众大会上被提及。

国大数理中学校长王金富博士认为，学生们在有限的资源下获得如此佳绩，除了先天资质外，后天的努力和教师义务帮忙训练都起到了关键的作用。林捷是本地学生自1988年参加国际奥林匹克竞赛以来，他见过最有天分的一个学生。

物理竞赛交出本地最好个人成绩

在物理竞赛方面，国大数理中学的薛祥恩（18岁）在381个参赛者中，排名第四，是本地至今最好的个人成绩。

除了国大数理中学外，来自英华中学（自主）、华侨中学和莱佛士书院的学生也代表我国参与了国际奥林匹克竞赛，并在化学、生物和年轻物理学家锦标赛（Young Physicists' Tournament）中获得亮眼成绩。

IMO Official - Lim Jeck
IMO Hall of Fame

Results tabulated by 刀如水 (a forummer), more detailed and clearer than 联合早报 :) . There are so many outstanding olympians in Singapore. This year, we have IBO world individual #4, #5, IPhO #4 etc, and Singapore teams are ranked 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc. in the world.  Yet our local media hardly mentioned their achievements (all the gold, silver and bronze medalists). The zaobao article focussed too much on Lim Jeck, I think it should have more coverage on other olympians and Singapore's success stories in the international math and science olympiads.

NUS High winners - Yan Hao, Anlong, Francis, Byorn, Kendrick, Sean, Jeck and Stanley

Mathematical Medley Vol 38 No. 2

Saw the following from the Singapore Mathematical Society publications webpage,

and ordered a copy.

Report on the 53rd IMO, Singapore Team

Now I know why Lim Jeck had not brought home the IMO 2012 folders containing the questions and his solutions scripts.

Solution to Problem 3, the hardest problem in IMO 2012. Only 8 out of 548 participants could solve it completely.

3rd hardest problem. 86 participants could solve this problem completely. Seems like a short solution to me. 

Solution to Problem 6, the second hardest question. Only 10 participants solved it completely.

Solutions to Qn 1, 2 & 4 are not included here. Go buy the Mathematical Medley if you want to see the solutions to these questions. :D

National Day Rally 2012

At yesterday's National Day Rally 2012, our Prime Minister (PM Lee Hsien Loong) highlighted the achievements of our students at the recent International Math and Science competitions. He only mentioned International Biology Olympiad and International Mathematics Olympiad. I think the reason is, the media reported only these two in July, hence PM Lee did not pick up the notable achievements of the other Science olympiads. It also does not help that our local media has a propensity to publicise more on sports, and less on academic competitions. I shall help our PM to give our students their due recognition (words in bold are not part of PM Lee's speech, they are inserted by me :) ).

" .. our schools, students also do well across the board. And at the top this year, they shine at the international competitions. This year our team won the International Biology Olympiad, we hosted it, and our team won 1st place. Our student, Nol Swaddiwudhipong from RI, was 1st. At the International Mathematical Olympiad, a Singaporean student, Lim Jeck, from NUS High School of Math and Science, was the top student. He came in 1st, the only one to score full marks this year. At the International Physics Olympiad, our Singapore Team did extremely well, winning 4 Gold and 1 Silver medals. I am also proud that our International Chemistry Olympiad team had won 2 Gold and 2 Silver medals, and at the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics, our Singapore team received 1 Gold and 3 Silver medals. .... It makes me proud that as a tiny red dot in the world map, we are able to achieve much ...."

International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) team - Joseph Kuan (RI), Huan Yan Qi (RI), Ding Yue (RI), Wayne Soo (NUS High) and Ang Yu Jian (NUS High)

International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) team - Tan Zhi Yang (NUS High), Liu Aofei (RI), Rachel Lim  (RI) and Gerard  Low (RI)

International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) team - Kendrick Wong (NUS High), Ang Yu Jian (NUS High), Wang Ye (RI), Jee Kai Yen (RI) and Wayne Soo (NUS High) 

Kheng Leng (my niece, from Ngee Ann Polytechnic and now studying in NUS Year 1) was also mentioned by PM Lee.

Prodigies of the maths universe

IN Depth
The Straits Times, 13 August 2012
by Sheryl Quek
Pdf Version

Click for a larger image. Lim Jeck and Ryan Kor are not in the photo. Perhaps they were not comfortable to be dressed as ancient Roman/Greek Olympians. :)

Mad About Maths

The Sunday Times 12 August 2012
Mad About Maths
by Eve Yap

Click for a larger image

Olympic fever should extend to math contests

Olympic fever should extend to math contests
By Andres Oppenheimer The Miami Herald
aoppenheimer@MiamiHerald.com

What’s most interesting about the 100-country International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) that took place last week in Mar del Plata, Argentina, was not that Asian students won the top prizes — they often do — but the fact that the event went virtually unnoticed in our part of the world.

While the July 4-16 math tournament got widespread media coverage in Singapore, South Korea, China and other Asian countries, it drew little attention in U.S. and Latin American media.

Our TV networks are already sending teams of reporters to cover javelin throws, archery and synchronized swimming competitions at the upcoming London Olympics, but few — if any — sent a correspondent to the Mar del Plata math tournament.

For the record, the 53rd annual IMO tournament of high school students was won by the six-member team of South Korea, which won six gold medals, followed by the teams of China (2nd), the United States (3rd), Russia (4th), Canada (5th), Thailand (6th) and Singapore (7th).

Among the Latin American countries, the best team was that of Peru, which ranked 16th, followed by Brazil (19th), Mexico (31st), Colombia (46th), Costa Rica (46th), Argentina (54th), Chile (59th), Venezuela (91st) and Cuba (95th).

Individually, the top prize was won by Lim Jeck, 17, of Singapore, who won a gold medal with a perfect score and became an instant media star in his home country.

Argentina, this year’s IMO host country, is a case study of how little attention is paid to education in many Latin American countries.

Most Argentine newspapers published only a few paragraphs about the math competition, if any, and most of it was buried in their society or culture pages. Neither President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, nor the country’s education minister, nor any other top-level government official attended the event’s inauguration.

At a time when many international studies show that well-trained teachers are the single most important tool to improve countries’ education standards, garbage collectors and truck drivers in Argentina make much more money than teachers.

As I learned during a visit to Argentina a few weeks ago, truck drivers in that country make 2.8 times the minimum wage, garbage collectors 2.6 times the minimum wage, and teachers 1.3 times the minimum wage. A teacher working double shifts makes 2.59 times the minimum wage, still less than a truck driver or garbage collector.

Largely because of Argentina’s failure to evaluate its teachers and offer merit pay to the best qualified ones, education standards have plummeted in recent years.

The country, once among Latin America’s best educated ones, today ranks near the bottom in the international standardized PISA test of 15-year-old students, significantly behind Chile, Uruguay, Mexico, Colombia and other countries in the region.

In Mexico, while teachers make more than garbage collectors and truck drivers, a government crusade to improve education standards suffered a major blow earlier this month when only 30 percent of teachers attended a national teacher evaluation test. Earlier government plans to start a merit pay system for good teachers are now in limbo.

In case you are wondering whether there’s any relation between match and science education and countries’ economic growth, there is.

This year’s IMO winner South Korea, which was much poorer than virtually all Latin American countries only fifty years ago, last year registered 13,500 international patents for new inventions, whereas all Latin American countries together only 500, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

In recent days, following President Barack Obama’s announcement that he plans to create an elite teachers corps that will pay professors of math and science an extra $20,000 a year, many Latin American educators stressed that without economic incentives and greater academic requirements, it will be hard to attract good teachers for Latin American schools.

My opinion: In the growing East vs. West battle for the best academic standards, we in the media share a large of responsibility for not putting education at the top of the public agenda.

There is nothing wrong with massive press coverage of the London Olympics. But when we focus our entire attention on sports competitions and virtually ignore math tournaments, we create only one kind of role models, and fail to glorify those who are the most likely to make the scientific discoveries that can improve our living standards or conquer diseases. It’s time to glorify Olympic math champions, just as we glorify Olympic swimmers.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/21/2904712/olympic-fever-should-extend-to.html#storylink=cpy

Puzzles a thrill for maths whizz

The Sunday Times 22 July 2012
by Matthias Chew

Click for a larger image

 

Thanks Matthias (who can write so well!) for the report and professional photographer, Yaohui, for trying his best to make Lim Jeck smile but failed :)

Puzzles a thrill for maths whizz, by Matthias Chew

Love for numbers runs in the family for S'pore boy who topped international contest.

The obsession with mind-bending conundrums came early. A favourite childhood activity for Singaporean student Lim Jeck, who won the International Mathematical Olympiad last week, was to create puzzles for others to solve.

A peek into a jotter book belonging to the then 10-year-old reveals drawings of intricate mazes, ranging from squiggly lines to the three-dimensional. Now 17, his interest in unravelling puzzles has not abated. His favourite maths topics - geometry and combinatorics, which is the study of permutations and combinations - are relatively light on theories and formulae. To excel in those areas, one needs a logical mind and problem-solving skills.

His bent in navigating spatial and logical challenges helped propel Jeck to the top of the Olympiad in Argentina a week ago, beating 547 other pre-university students from 100 countries. He is the first Singaporean to do so. In the process, the National University of Singapore (NUS) High School student attained a perfect score, also a first for a Singaporean, and the only one in this year's contest, which attracts the brightest young mathematical minds from around the globe. But he is not done. He is aiming to compete again at next year's Olympiad, which will be the last he qualifies for, as he is due to graduate from NUS High next year as well.

The thought of repeating his feat does not faze him. Said Jeck: "I have one year to prepare for that and I will be ready for the challenge." With the contest setting the hardest questions in the last two years in both his pet topics, it played to the Year 5 student's strengths. Jeck came close last year, but missed out on a perfect score by a mere two points 'because I was not careful'. The result? He was second overall. Even then, it was the best showing by any Singaporean, till his first place finish this year.

An interview with the Lim family at their Stirling Road condominium yesterday revealed a gifted teenager who prefers computer games to cramming for tests. "He doesn't study too hard, but somehow manages to do well," said his mother, Madam Ng Bee Yong, 47, who runs an IT software firm with Jeck's father, Mr Lim Beng Cheng, 51. She said his As come in maths, physics, chemistry and computing, but he gets Bs and the occasional C for languages.

Jeck, however, is reticent in person, and it was his older sister, Min, who revealed that his other hobbies are reading and watching anime, and solving jigsaw puzzles. He was more forthcoming on e-mail. Asked who he would credit for developing his talent in maths, he singled out his family. "Without their guidance and support I wouldn't have come so far." His sisters, Min, 18, who is in JC 2 at Raffles Institution, and Li, 13, in Secondary 1 at NUS High, are both also mathematically inclined. The siblings are a fixture at local maths competitions, and Min also represented Singapore at the China Girls Maths Olympiad last year.

But like many boys his age, Jeck's mind these days is not on maths so much as the online game Minecraft. The multi-player game allows players to build structures, and Jeck exploits the game's lack of limits to create complex puzzles for his friends to manoeuvre out of. Indeed, playing Minecraft was the first thing Jeck did when he arrived home from Argentina on Wednesday.

While he has yet to decide where and what to study at university, one thing has not changed from when he was a little boy. He said he "would like to make maths, as well as computing, my career".

S'porean Boy's Perfect Score

The Straits Times 18 July 2012
by Matthias Chew

Click for a larger image

Perfect win for S'pore boy in maths contest, by Matthias Chew 

NUS High School student Lim Jeck, 17, beat 547 others to clinch the top spot in this year's International Mathematical Olympiad. His perfect score of 42 was a first for a Singaporean, and the only one in this year's competition.

Lim Jeck has become the first Singaporean to clinch the top spot in a prestigious mathematics competition. The 17-year-old beat 547 other youngsters to rank first in this year's edition of the International Mathematical Olympiad in Mar del Plata, Argentina.

In the week-long contest which ended on Sunday, pre-university students attempted to solve six questions, each worth up to seven points. The top 9 per cent were awarded gold medals. Jeck's perfect score of 42 was a first for a Singaporean, and the only one in this year's competition. He pipped South Korea's Kim Dong Ryul, who scored 40, and Bobby Shen of the United States, who scored 39.

The National University of Singapore (NUS) High School student's win meant he went one better than last year, when he finished second. Then 16, he qualified for a gold medal along with three other teammates. The four-gold haul was Singapore's best showing to date, and the six-man team placed third overall. But this year, the Republic slipped to seventh out of 100 countries, with Jeck the only gold medallist. NUS High's Ling Yan Hao, and Raffles Institution's (RI) Ryan Kor and Lee You Jun took silver, while Lawrence Li from RI and Ang Yan Sheng from NUS High took bronze. South Korea came in first, with all six team members taking gold. China placed second while the US came in third. Singapore started taking part in the 53-year-old competition in 1988. Before last year, it had won gold only once, in 1996.

The Straits Times was unable to reach Jeck yesterday, as the Republic's team was in the midst of travelling home. They are expected to arrive in Singapore this afternoon. Jeck's father, businessman Lim Beng Cheng, told The Straits Times that this was the fourth time his son had taken part in the competition. He won bronze at his first attempt in 2009, when he was just 14, and silver in 2010. Medals are typically given only to the top 50 per cent of competitors each year.

Jeck discovered his love for maths in primary school, by solving maths problems posted by others on the Internet, said his father. He added: "We didn't train him at all, and none of our children have tuition." Besides Jeck, Mr Lim has two daughters - Lim Min, 18, who attends RI and Lim Li, 13, who attends NUS High. Mr Lim also praised NUS High for helping his son "build a very strong maths foundation". He added: "Jeck's next step is to start some maths research, but because he is still very young, we will move on very slowly and not put stress on him."

From Lee Hsien Loong's Facebook  :P

Dear Prime Minister Sir, Thank You Very Much!  我们太受宠若惊了。

借了某个淘气女人引用的台词，“皇恩浩荡哪，深感惶恐啊”

本地顶尖学生数学程度高

This is posted by LJ's mum.

联合早报三年前的报道。

获学校家长重视 数学奥林匹克赛培训班受欢迎
王珏琪　(11-02-2009)

新加坡数学学会提供的数据显示，该会举办的新加坡中学低年级数学奥林匹克比赛，参加学生在去年达4775人，比2005年增加了966人；中学高年级奥林匹克比赛的参赛者也增加，去年达3348人，比2005年时增加了167人。

数学奥林匹克赛带动商机

这股数学奥林匹克比赛风，也吹到了学校。国大数理中学每年为小学生举行数学奥林匹克竞赛，参加人数从2006年的2558人，增至去年的4172人，增幅约六成。补习中心和出版商都看准了这样的商机。

Simply Smart Education Centre补习中心开办的数学奥林匹克班，报读的小学生2003年仅有三四名，去年增加到约有20名，去年则有约10名中学生修读这课程。该补习中心的合伙人兼教师陈可鸣（35岁）指出，有的家长因为孩子没有被选入数学奥林匹克赛培训校队，把孩子送到补习中心上培训班，一旦孩子的数学能力提高了，就请补习中心写推荐信给学校，让孩子进入校队。

泛太平洋出版社在2007年中到2008年中为小学生出版了五本数学奥林匹克课外书，目前售出了约9000套。总裁杨家敏答复本报询问时说，他们计划推出至少多两个相关系列的课外书。这些课外书基本上是培养学生对数学奥林匹克赛的兴趣，以及给学生尝试具挑战性的数学题目。
陈可鸣说：“有的家长要孩子参加奥林匹克培训班，也是为了帮助孩子通过中学直接收生计划，希望学校在小六会考放榜前录取孩子。”
该补习中心也到中小学开办培训班，陈可鸣发现，有的学校的目的不是为了让学生参加比赛，而是改善数学成绩，希望学生的小六会考数学成绩能从A提升到A*。

杨永耀（28岁）也看准商机，投资了5万元，去年底在宏茂桥开设了状元村补习中心。除了一般补习课程，他也开办数理奥林匹克培训班，培训班收费每1个半小时149元。
他和负责策划奥林匹克培训班的导师蔡伟康（28岁）都曾经代表新加坡参加国际化学奥林匹克赛，蔡伟康去年还是国际科学奥林匹克中学组国家队的教练之一，新加坡去年在该比赛排名第二。
杨永耀指出，他设立状元村的原因之一，也是希望从小培养学生作答数理问题的能力，例如中国学生从小学开始就进行很严谨的数理奥林匹克培训，也出版了不少有关奥林匹克的书籍，我国学生如果从小就有这方面的训练，有助于他们在国际赛中与中国、美国等强国竞争。
其中一名导师周益德（20岁）毕业自邻里学校，在高一代表本地参加国际数学奥林匹克赛的他就希望，更多不同背景的学生能有机会参加这类培训班，并获得平等参赛机会。

本地顶尖学生数学程度高

我国土生土长的顶尖学生，数学程度并不比前来本地求学的外国学生差。
新加坡数学学会副会长王金富博士受访时说，只有公民或永久居民才能代表新加坡参赛。而从中国到本地求学的学生确立的高标准，成了本地学生一种追求的目标。
我国去年在国际数学奥林匹克数学赛中排名32，2007年是第36，2006年是第27，而2005年获得历来参赛成绩最好的第14名。
也是国大数理中学校长的王金富博士受访时说，新加坡小国寡民，“我觉得我们的表现还算不错，因为这些比赛的竞争很强，有90多个国家参赛。”
他发现，近三四年，本地数学奥林匹克赛前五名的学生通常是本地人，“我可以说过了这么多年，我们最好的学生虽然不比外籍学生好，但是已经能与他们相比了”。他指出，这与10年前的情况相比，已经是很大的进步。
至于为什么参加数学学会举办的数学奥林匹克赛学生人数会增加，王金富认为，除了只颁发奖项给前面30名学生，奥林匹克赛也会颁金、银、铜牌和荣誉奖状，有助于鼓励学生继续培养他们对数学的兴趣。
他说：“在本地，我们对数学有这样的共识：就是数学很重要。家长们都希望孩子在校时就能在数学上取得很好的表现。而且，很久以来，数学和科学在小学和中学里都是必修科目，家长知道孩子需要有很稳固的数学和科学基础。”

通过比赛发掘有天赋学生

新加坡中学低年级奥林匹克比赛近来还吸引了小学生参加。王博士指出有一名学生在小学六年级的时候就参加了该竞赛，还获得第八名，最后被国大数理中学发掘，目前在该校就读。他中一就加入了国家队，相信是有史以来年级最轻的数学奥林匹克国家队成员。
王金富说：“他在小学并没有接受正统的（数学奥林匹克）训练。通过这种比赛，你就能不时发掘有天赋的学生。因此我们举办的奥林匹克赛培养了学生的兴趣，也帮助我们寻找有天赋的学生。”
不过，他强调：“在比赛中获得好成绩，并不是终点。给学生参加比赛的目的应该是培养对数学的兴趣，和栽培这些数学天才。”例如，有不少参加数学学会奥林匹克赛的学生，虽然没有获得金牌，但是仍然继续到大学修读数学科。
“每个国家必须在不同领域有一定数量的人才。让我们感到庆幸的是，还有这批人对数学保持兴趣，追求到他们可以达到的最高点。当他们回国服务时，无论是当数学家或教育家，都是国家的栋梁。”
王博士劝请家长，对于孩子的要求不应该过高，不应该一味要求孩子在比赛中获得奖牌，重要的是让孩子自然发展数学能力和对数学的兴趣。

国大数理中学校长：中国数学课本有助提升水准

王金富博士希望本地学生能够参考中国出版的中学和高中数学课本。
国大数理中学校长王金富博士说：“这些课本都是由很有经验的数学教师撰写，把数学的精华都浓缩在课本里。中国有很多人在做这样的工作，他们课本里的题目有助于学生达到学习目标。”　　
王博士虽然是英校生，但是热爱华族文化，也爱拉二胡，为了更深入了解华族文化，他努力提高华文程度。他相信，学生如果有学习华文的原因和动力，他们一定会学习或提升他们的华文程度。
王博士的不少中学数学课本由曾任上海复旦大学数学教授的徐家鹄推荐，他的长子王皓权十五六岁的时候就在徐家鹄教授的指导下学习数学，并认识了中国数学课本。

教育部奖学金得主：纯粹为成绩做数学会反感

王皓权（19岁）指出，他从这些课本学习到的知识，大部分能运用在奥林匹克赛，也帮助他提高数学解题的能力，但是由于课本的内容超出了他在学校上课的内容，他还是需要徐教授从旁协助。
王皓权参加了几届本地数学奥林匹克赛，中二和中四的时候获得第一名。他说，他对数学的兴趣是受父亲的影响。他是教育部奖学金得主，华侨中学校友，目前在服役，明年将到外国大学修读数学。
他说：“我从小到大都喜欢做思考题目，数学本身就非常考个人的思考能力。起初会有点困难，因为你的知识不多，但是当你越读越多，有了知识，就会上瘾、越做越多（数学题）。因为每个题目都是一个挑战，每征服一个挑战就有满足感。”
在学习数学的过程中，王皓权也曾为了准备比赛而感到不愉快。他说：“最重要的是，从学习中取得乐趣，因为当你纯粹为了成绩而做数学题时，会很反感。”

家长学生看数理奥林匹克培训班

校外奥林匹克培训班学费价格不菲，还是有学生上门。
两名来自邻里中学的好朋友沈洋和许实锐（15岁）今年一起转到直通车学校，两人都说他们是因为对科学的兴趣，想通过补习中心的物理奥林匹克培训班，获得不同科学视角，并相信既然在培训班学习较高程度的内容，校内的考试也会显得较容易应付。
两人曾代表学校参加科学比赛，沈洋说：“将来有机会，希望代表学校参加科学奥林匹克比赛，因为我觉得参加比赛对我有益，可认识更多人和学习课本外的知识。”

妈妈要孩子提升数学成绩

林淑美（35岁，家庭主妇）的长子今年小学五年级，她去年就为他报读了一家西部补习中心的数学奥林匹克培训班，学费是每10堂课440元。儿子去年的数学成绩80多分。不过，她认为儿子在数学方面有天赋，并希望儿子能够通过培训班提高数学成绩，参加全国数学奥林匹克赛，以提高通过中学直接收生计划预先被名校录取的机会。
“我嫌他太迟参加培训班，因为其他家长很早就为孩子报读了这个培训班。”
她说，她原本计划为二年级的幼子也报读这个数学奥林匹克培训班，但是学生人数太多，只能把名字登记在等候名单上。

Chinese Newspaper on Singapore Mathematical Olympiad 2011

林捷（左）横扫新加坡数学比赛的高中组和公开组冠军，获得教育部兼国防部政务部长黄循财的赞赏。 （周柏荣摄）

新加坡数学奥林匹克赛，国大数理中学学生称王
来源：联合早报2011年9月4日

国大数理中学的林捷独占鳌头，在新加坡数学奥林匹克比赛中，击败了1万多名参赛学生，横扫高中组和公开组冠军。

林捷（16岁）的数学知识不但在本地的学生之上，他也刚在7月摘下国际数学奥林匹克比赛亚军荣衔，昨天三度上台领奖，成为我国耀眼的数学明日之星。

而林捷对数学的兴趣早在他小学五年级时就培养起来。他的父母毕业自国大电脑科学系，相信在潜移默化中儿子也喜欢上数学，从小就玩拼图游戏、迷宫和魔幻方块（Rubik's Cube）。现在，林捷在温习数学功课时，也上数学网站，向网友发问数学题目，互相切磋。

他的母亲黄美蓉（46岁）受访时说：“有些孩子空闲时就拿故事书来读，林捷则会拿起iPad，玩数学游戏，上数学网站交朋友。”

教育部兼国防部政务部长黄循财昨天为百多名学生颁发奖状，肯定他们在新加坡数学奥林匹克比赛、新加坡数学研究计划比赛和国际数学奥林匹克比赛这三项比赛的表现。

今年，共有来自138所学校的1万零665名学生参加的新加坡数学奥林匹克比赛，是历来参与人数最多的一次。

真金不怕火炼，数理学科一直是国大数理中学、华侨中学和莱佛士书院的强项，这三所中学更在今年的比赛中，独占初中组、高中组和公开组的前三甲宝座。

而新加坡数学研究计划比赛今年则吸引了来自20所中学的55项研究计划，让学生在课堂外，通过新颖、有创意的方式接触数学。

颁奖礼上，得奖团队的学生讲解他们的研究计划，他们不仅通过斐波那契数列（Fibonacci Sequence）来解决电影售票员零钱不足的问题，也用量子物理学来确保自己能在井字棋（Tic-tac-toe）中取胜。

黄循财接受本报访问时说，新加坡的数学教育景观日益多样化。“所以我们才能够不断寻求突破，因为数学的教育方式不单是公式化的，也可以灵活运用。”

他解释，我国教育系统有类似国大数理中学的教育学府，专研数理学科，同时也有多项比赛和活动，让学生了解数学的乐趣。此外，数学比赛也越来越多样化，学校举办国际数学比赛，更推出新颖的数独（Sudoku）比赛。

新加坡数理学会副主席林杉认为，我国数理成果突出的其中一个原因是参与数理教学工作的人员的热情投入。他以协会的成员为例说，成员多数为数学老师和教授，他们都是出自于对数学的热忱，在工余时间志愿参加学会的各项活动。

CGMO 2011 News on Tamil Murasu

This is posted by Lim Min's mum.

The girl in the picture is Surya Mathialagan, a Year 2 student from NUS High. She was interviewed by Tamil Murasu (the Tamil newspaper under SPH) on her CGMO achievements.

An English translation of the above article can be found in Edvantage website - Surya scores at maths Olympiad
EIGHT students - from Raffles Institution, NUS High and Raffles Girls' School - did Singapore proud at the recent China Girls Mathematical Olympiad.

They won one gold, two silver and four bronze medals at the event held in Shenzhen from July 30 to Aug 3... a vast improvement from last year's tally of one silver and four bronze medals.

NUS High School of Mathematics and Science Year 2 student Surya Mathialagan was the only Indian in the group. And she came home with a bronze medal.

A veteran of such maths Olympiads - she has been taking part in such competitions since she was in Primary 5 - this is Miss Mathialagan's first international medal. And the joy was evident when she told Tamil Murasu: "It gives me a lot of satisfaction when I solve tough mathematical problems."

The China Girls Mathematical Olympiad was introduced in 2002 as a domestic event but various countries have been invited to take part since. It comprises four questions that have to be completed in four hours. In Singapore, students undergo tests to qualify for the team representing the nation at the Olympiad.

Miss Mathialagan, who prepared for this Olympiad by tackling various mathematical questions for a minimum of six hours in the week leading up to the event, is now setting her sights higher. "I want to work harder and take part in the International Mathematical Olympiad. Once I do that, I want to win a medal and make Singapore proud," she said.

Mediacorp News - IMO 2011 Singapore Team

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