Professor Chen Kwun-min (陳焜銘) of the Department of Chemistry of National Taiwan Normal University, along with about a dozen other professors 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. A total of 1,168 students entered the primary competition this year, and ultimately four students were chosen to represent Taiwan in the IChO. The Taiwanese team went to Vietnam on July 20 to take part in the 46th IChO. The closing and award ceremonies were held on July 28.

Taiwan participated in this international competition for the first time in 1992, and has performed well each year. To date, Taiwan has won 38 gold medals, 42 silver medals, and 11 bronze medals. On average over the past 10 years Taiwan has ranked fifth place, and ranked first in the 1993, 1997, 2009 and 2013 IChO.

The names of the five winning students are as follows:

To recognize students’ outstanding performance, the Ministry of Education (MOE) formulated and issued special regulations. The Regulations for Preferred Status Admission to Institutions of Higher Education for Award Holders for the International Mathematics and Science Olympiads and International Science Fair stipulate that those who win gold, silver, or bronze medals in the IChO can be automatically admitted to university mathematics and science related departments, or recommended to any university department for admission. Additionally, 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, in the hope 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 IChO, which will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan.