Two teams from the University of Macau (UM) recently won a first prize and a second prize, respectively, in the Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (ICM) 2021 in the United States. The event was held concurrently with the Mathematical Contest in Modeling. 7 per cent of teams have won a first prize and 18 per cent of teams have won a second prize. UM is the only higher education institution in Macao to have won a first prize in this competition. The event attracted over 26,000 teams from around the world. Since its debut in the contests in 2015, the university has won more than ten awards.
This year’s contests attracted a total of 26,112 teams from more than 20 countries and regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and Australia. The contest consisted of six questions, covering topics such as operational research and network science, environmental science, and related policy. The UM team picked questions related to environmental science and proposed a way to optimise the world’s food system by constructing a mathematical model to reduce the inequitable distribution of food worldwide, with the aim of reducing the proportion of people suffering from hunger worldwide. The first prize-winning team consisted of Huang Siqi and Ye Junwen from the Faculty of Business Administration (FBA) and Yang Guangpu from the Faculty of Social Sciences. The second prize-winning team is formed by Pan Shijie and Chen Yuhua from the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) and Lin Yuxin from the FBA. The students’ instructor is Liu Zhi, an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics of the FST.
The Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) and the Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (ICM) are held concurrently. Since 1985, 38 MCMs and 23 ICMs have been held and they are the first modelling competitions in the world. The two events are sponsored by the American Federation of Mathematics and its Applications, and supported by organisations such as the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the National Security Agency in the United States, and the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences.
The Department of Mathematics of the FST attaches importance to the development of students’ ability in interdisciplinary mathematical modelling and data analysis. In addition to offering a mathematical modelling course and encouraging students from different disciplines to participate in contests, the department also established a mathematical modelling advisory committee comprised of professors and provided support to students in the establishment of the Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Modeling Association under the UM Students’ Union. Teams from UM have won awards in various modelling competitions over the years, reflecting the success of the department’s modelling training for students from different disciplines. In addition, the department continues to extend its teaching efforts to secondary schools in Macao, and has conducted training in mathematical modelling for a number of schools. It will continue to nurture the next generation of mathematical modelling talent in the future.
澳門大學兩支學生隊伍於“2021年美國國際大學生數學建模競賽（MCM/ICM）”中的交叉學科建模競賽( ICM）奪得一等獎及二等獎，獲獎率分別為7%及18%，是全澳唯一獲一等獎的高校，是次比賽吸引全球2萬6千多支學生隊伍參加。澳大自2015年參賽以來，在這項賽事已累計獲得超過10個獎項。
是次比賽共吸引來自全球如美國、英國、德國、加拿大、澳洲等20多個國家和地區共26,112支隊伍參賽。競賽共設置6道題目，內容涵蓋運籌學與網絡科學、環境科學及政策等。澳大隊伍選擇環境科學相關題，通過構建數學模型，提出優化當前世界食物系統的方法，進而減少世界範圍的食物分配不公平的問題，以期達到減少全球受飢餓人口的比例。一等獎獲獎隊伍由工商管理學院黃思琦、葉俊文及社會科學學院楊光普組成；二等獎獲獎隊伍則由科技學院潘世傑、陳煜華及工商管理學院林宇欣組成，兩組隊伍皆由澳大科技學院數學系副教授劉志指導。
美國國際大學生數學建模競賽分為數學建模競賽（MCM）和交叉學科建模競賽（ICM）。自1985年舉辦至今，已有37屆MCM和23屆ICM，為現今各類建模競賽之鼻祖。兩項賽事由美國數學及其應用聯合會主辦，獲得工業和應用數學學會、美國國家安全局、運籌學、管理科學研究協會等多個組織的大力支持。
澳大數學系十分重視學生在交叉學科數學建模與數據分析的能力，除了開設數學建模課程，鼓勵不同學科的學生參加比賽外，更建立由教授們組成的數學建模諮詢委員，成立澳大學生會數學與交叉學科建模學會等。澳大隊伍連續多年在各種建模競賽中獲獎，反映數學系對不同專業的學生所開設的建模培養已取得一定成效。此外，澳大數學系也持續擴展其教學工作至澳門中學，現已成功為多所澳門中學進行數學建模培訓，未來將繼續培養下一代數學建模人才。
(From left) Liu Zhi, Huang Siqi, Ye Junwen, and Yang Guangpu
（左起）劉志、黃思琦、葉俊文及楊光普