Professor Fuh Cheng-der (傅承德) of the Graduate Institute of Statistics of National Central University, along with around a dozen took charge of training the Taiwanese team. Team members were selected in four stages: the primary competition, semi-final competition, pre-game training camp, and final competition. Six students were selected to participate in the international competition. The team set out for South Africa on July 1 and went back to Taiwan after the closing and award ceremony, which took place at 7PM on July 12 (local time).

The IMO is the biggest Olympiad event participated in by Taiwan, with over 100 countries having taken part since 2008. Taiwan took part in this international competition for the first time in 1992, and has scored well each year. To date, Taiwan has won 33 gold medals, 77 silver medals, 20 bronze medals and seven honorable mentions. Over the past years, Taiwan was ranked in the top 20 among the participating countries in every competition.

The names of the team members who won awards are below.

To recognize these students’ outstanding performance, the Ministry of Education (MOE) formulated and issued special regulations. The Regulations Governing Academic Advancement Incentives for Students Who Compete and Perform Well in International Mathematics or Science Olympiads and International Science Fairs stipulate that those who win gold, silver, or bronze medals in the IMO can be automatically admitted to university mathematics and science related departments, or recommended to any university department for admission. Those who win an honorary award may also be recommended for admission to university mathematics and science departments. Additionally, those who win a gold medal will receive a 200,000 NT dollar scholarship; those with a silver will receive a 100,000 NT dollar scholarship; and those with a bronze will receive a 50,000 NT dollar scholarship. A student who wins two or more different awards during the same academic year can only apply for the most valuable scholarship he or she qualifies for.

In the future, the MOE will continue to train students and invite the most outstanding ones to participate in international contests, to promote the country’s international exchanges and expand students’ global perspective. The government will again select the best-qualified students to compete in next year’s IMO which will be held in Bangkok, Thailand.