In 2021 Simon Marais Mathematics Competition (East Division), the team from XMUM Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics won Malaysia’s top score in both the individual and the pair categories, while three XMUM participants entered the Top Quartile listing for the individual category. Prof. Teo Lee Peng from the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics served as the team’s advisor.

Third-year student Teoh Chao Dun ranked top among all individual participants from Malaysia and was awarded the Stonehage-Fleming Prize, while Cui Yuyan and Tan Hong Sheng were both among the Top Quartile of the individual category. Ma Shengkun and Yexingmin, both from 2020/09 intake, ranked first in Malaysia for the pair category.

This is the fifth consecutive year that XMUM team has achieved outstanding results in the Simon Marais Mathematics Competition. This year, for the first time, this annual global mathematics competition was organized in two divisions: the East Division covered universities in the Asia Pacific region, while the West Division included universities of Europe and Africa. XMUM participated in the East Division of the competition, which attracted a total of 597 participants from Singapore, South Korea, Philippines, India, Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, etc.

Below is the feedback from XMUM participants.

Teoh Chao Dun: I have participated in the Simon Marais Mathematics Competition every year since 2019 and I believe it is the accumulation of little effort and experience over time that made this achievement possible. I am thankful to Prof. Teo for her math competition training and her guidance.

Cui Yuyan: It is my true honor to excel in Simon Marais Competition in my final year. A lot of thanks to my lecturers, parents and friends, who have given me continuous guidance and support during the whole process. Join the competition and taste the beauty of math!

Tan Hong Sheng: It is so lucky to study in Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at XMUM. Thanks to the guidance of all the lecturers and professors, I have learned a lot of methods of studying math, which helps me stablish a solid foundation for my future study. Hope the future be better and better!

Ma Shengkun: Winning Simon Marais Competition is virtually one of my dreams come true. I have been obsessed with math competitions since my high school years. Hence, I participated in Simon Marais Competition with my good friend. The preparation was kind of suffering, but the topic was really innovative and challenging.   

Ye Xingmin: For me, the Simon Marais Mathematics Competition, which has provided me with novel perspectives to this field, tested my professional competence. Winning the prize encouraged me to make more efforts to explore the kingdom of mathematics.