The Australian team that competed in the 2023 European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO) has ranked third out of 55 participating countries. It is the second consecutive year that the Australian team has ranked third overall in the competition. Individually, the Australian team of four received three Gold Medals and one Silver Medal. One team member, Laura Nan, achieved a perfect score.
The full list of team members and their achievements are as follows:
• Eunsu Choi, Brisbane State School, QLD – Year 12, Silver Medal (individual rank: 27)
• Laura Nan, Fintona Girls’ School, VIC – Year 10, Gold Medal (individual rank: 1 – perfect score)
• Cloris Xu, Baulkham Hills High School, NSW – Year 11, Gold Medal (individual rank: 18)
• Iris Xu, Baulkham Hills High School, NSW – Year 11, Gold Medal (individual rank: 18)
“These are outstanding results and on behalf of all of us at the Trust, I would like to personally congratulate Iris, Cloris, Eunsu and Laura on their achievements. I’m very happy their months of hard work, creativity and persistence have paid off. I would also like to congratulate our Team Leader, Sally Tsang, and Deputy Team Leader, Dana Ma, who have done so much to support and guide the team this year,” said Nathan Ford, CEO, Australian Maths Trust.
The 2023 EGMO team was selected and supported through the Australian Maths Trust’s (AMT’s) Olympiad program. The program receives funding from the Department of Industry, Science and Resources through the Inspiring Australia – Science Engagement Programme. The EGMO program is also supported by Optiver, the Trust’s National Sponsor of the Australian Informatics and Mathematical Olympiad programs.
“Providing opportunities for young women to extend their knowledge and skills in mathematics is a key area of focus for the Trust. Our sustained success in identifying, training and supporting these remarkable young women to compete on the international stage is one way in which we contribute to the future expansion and diversity of mathematical thought and leadership in Australia,” Mr. Ford continued.
The 2023 European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO) took place in Slovenia from 13-19th April 2023. This is the sixth year that Australia was represented at EGMO. Since 2018, Australian EGMO teams have placed: 20th, 14th, 12th, 12th, 3rd and 3rd respectively.
Similar in style to the International Mathematical Olympiad, two papers of three questions each are taken on consecutive days. Participating countries send teams consisting of four female mathematicians of high school age.
Interviews are available with Nathan Ford, CEO, Australian Maths Trust. The participating students will arrive back in Australia from Slovenia on Friday 21st April at 6:15am and interviews/photo opportunities may be arranged from then on request.
MEDIA BACKGROUNDER
The European Girls’Mathematical Olympiad Australian team for 2023 comprised:
Eunsu Choi – Brisbane State High School, QLD
Eunsu especially enjoys the creative problem-solving aspect of mathematics. She gains satisfaction from tackling unique and complex problems that require new ideas and thinking to solve. She also appreciates the elegance and intuitive nature of mathematical concepts and particularly likes simple solutions to difficult problems, that can be understood with little background knowledge.
Eunsu plans to study mathematics in university, with a goal of pursuing a PhD in her chosen field. Eunsu hopes to use her mathematical skills to solve real-world problems, particularly climate change. She is intrigued by the millennium problems and hopes to contribute to their
solutions.
Laura Nan – Fintona Girls School, VIC
“People (specifically English teachers) often say “oh, this isn’t like maths, there’s not one definite answer.” What they don’t realise is, there are many ways to solve a problem, but as long as you do it correctly, you always get there in the end. And sometimes I do like the stability of knowing there’s a single answer, and I can prove it beyond all doubt with logic – we don’t get enough of that in life.”
“I haven’t really thought about what I want to achieve after school, really. At this point, I’m just seeing how far I can get.” “I’m hoping I won’t encounter too many problems to
solve in my adult life!”
Cloris Xu – Baulkham Hills High
Cloris enjoys maths because it allows her to constantly challenge herself and enhance her problem-solving skills. She can gain a better understanding of how different difficulties can be approached when attempting to solve complex problems that require deep thinking.
In her future schooling years, Cloris wishes to further her study not only in maths, but also in other areas in STEM, so that she can apply a wider range of skills to real-world challenges she intends to solve as an adult. Using these skills, Cloris hopes to be able to solve important technical and social concerns in the future, such as global warming.
Iris Xu – Baulkham Hills High
The thing Iris loves the most about maths is the process of challenging herself with difficult questions that are hard to solve but finally solving them after thinking about them really hard, which gives her a great sense of accomplishment. She also enjoys maths because she believes it is a very useful tool for solving many issues in our daily life.
Through her schooling, she is hoping to become a well-rounded problem solver, both in maths and in other different subjects in school and in life. She also hopes that the things she learns will help her be able to help build society into a better place; in the future, she wants to
solve many real-world problems, such as the lack of necessary resources in some regions, with her skills and problem-solving abilities.
Media Contact
For more information, images or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Lauren Griffiths, Threesides Marketing – 0417 409 264 or lauren.griffiths@threesides.com.au
OR
Bonnie Ashley, Threesides Marketing – (02) 6249 1117 or bonnie.ashley@threesides.com.au
Images
Available on request