Hong Kong students excel at International Mathematical Olympiad (with photos)

     Hong Kong students continue to attain good results in international competitions related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. A team of six students representing Hong Kong achieved outstanding results in the 61st International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO 2020), winning three silver medals and three bronze medals. 
      
     Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, IMO 2020, originally scheduled to be held in July in St Petersburg, Russia, was rearranged. Contestants participated within each participating country or region under online monitoring and joined virtual activities from September 18 to 28. There were 616 contestants from 105 countries or regions participating in the competition.  
      
     In the IMO 2020, Chui Tsz-fung (Diocesan Boys' School), Harris Leung (Diocesan Boys' School) and Timothy Yau (Ying Wa College) each won a silver medal. The bronze medallists were Chu Cheuk-hei (St Paul's Co-educational College), Lai Wai-lok (St Paul's Co-educational College) and Sheremeta Daniel Weili (Hong Kong International School). Among them, Harris Leung won a gold medal in the 32nd International Olympiad in Informatics held in mid-September. 
      
     The Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, congratulated the Hong Kong team today (September 28) on their outstanding performance. Mr Yeung added, "Beyond the IMO 2020, a team of eight secondary school students representing Hong Kong at the 19th China Girls' Mathematical Olympiad in August won five silver medals and three bronze medals, demonstrating our students' talent in STEM education."  
      
     Mr Yeung said, "The Education Bureau (EDB) set up the Gifted Education Fund in 2016 and has so far made a total injection of $1.6 billion into the Fund, which provides sustained funding support to the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (HKAGE) for the development of gifted education and a wide variety of off-school advanced learning programmes for gifted students. These advanced learning programmes have been started this year and will continue to be implemented. To further unleash the potential of outstanding students in different disciplines, the EDB is now inviting post-secondary institutions, non-government organisations, professional bodies and technology enterprises to apply for support from the Fund to provide off-school advanced learning programmes for gifted students at the primary and secondary levels in Hong Kong in the 2020/21 school year." 
      
     The members of the Hong Kong team achieved excellent results in the International Mathematical Olympiad Preliminary Selection Contest – Hong Kong last year. They subsequently completed the mathematics enhancement programmes provided by the HKAGE. The outstanding students in the programmes were then selected as contestants representing Hong Kong to participate in the IMO 2020. The Hong Kong team was fully funded by the EDB to join this competition.