UM students win prizes at national mathematical modelling contest for three consecutive years
澳大學生連續三屆奪全國大學生數學建模賽獎

Two student teams from the University of Macau (UM) won two second prizes at the 14th Contemporary Undergraduate Mathematical Contest in Modeling of China (CUMCM). This is the third consecutive year that UM has won prizes at this contest. This year’s contest attracted 31,199 teams. Only about 6.9 per cent of them received first or second prizes.

Four UM teams participated in the contest. They were formed by six students, namely Long Qianyu, Wu Bo, Huang Zewei, and Zeng Inson from the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST), as well as Li Xinwei and Zhang Ruopiao from the Faculty of Business Administration. The teams were led by Assistant Professor Liu Zhi from the Department of Mathematics, FST.

Organised by the China Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the CUMCM is a national contest in the field of mathematical modelling. It is also the largest mathematical modelling contest in the world. This year’s contest attracted more than 100,000 students in 31,199 teams from 1,367 universities in China and Singapore.

In the contest, the UM teams assessed the effect of open housing estates on traffic condition on surrounding roads. The two teams collected real-time data from both open and closed housing estates in Shanghai and Beijing. By using a simulation software, they produced indices for quantitative evaluation and provide suggestions to departments in charge of urban planning and transport management based on the results.

The Department of Mathematics places an emphasis on cultivating students’ skills in mathematical modelling. This year, the department established a committee of mathematical modelling, which consists of Prof Ding Deng, Prof Lei Siu Long, and Prof Liu Zhi. The committee aims to provide consultancy and support to students in the field. In addition to the CUMCM, students from the Department of Mathematics have won prizes at various other modelling contests held in the United States and China. In particular, two students Huang Zewei and Zhang Ruopiao, led by Prof Liu Zhi, participated in the 2016 University Students’ Statistical Project Competition of Macao and won a third prize.

澳門大學科技學院數學系四名學生龍遷羽、吳博、黃澤偉、曾賢舜，以及工商管理學院兩名學生李忻葳、章若飄組成4支隊伍，參與“第14屆全國大學生數學建模競賽”，與海內外三萬多支高校隊伍較量，結果獲得兩項二等獎，獲獎率50%，位居全國高校前列。此為澳大學生連續三屆參賽並獲全國獎，指導老師為科技學院數學系助理教授劉志。

今屆賽事吸引全國33個省／市／區以及新加坡共1367所高等院校、近10萬名大學生組成31,199支參賽隊伍參與。澳大參賽隊伍分別採用了北京和上海開放社區與封閉社區的即時資料，以及採用電腦的模擬程式，建立了開放社區後對周邊道路通行的影響的量化評價指標。基於所得指標，向城市規劃和交通管理部門提出關於社區開放合理化建議。所得結果得到評委組的認可和讚揚。

“全國大學生數學建模競賽＂由中國工業與應用數學學會主辦，目前為全國高校規模最大的基礎性學科競賽，也是世界上規模最大的數學建模競賽。迄今為止已經舉辦了十四屆。

澳大數學系向來重視學生數學建模能力的培養，副教授丁燈、李兆隆及助理教授劉志今年組成“建模指導小組＂，為感興趣學生提供培訓及指導。除了參與全國大學生數學建模競賽外，澳大數學系學生近年積極參與海外競賽，如美國大學生數學建模競賽，並獲得獎勵。此外，黃澤偉、章若飄在劉志的指導下，參加澳門統計局主辦的“2016年第四屆大學統計習作比賽＂，並獲三等獎。此等成果說明數學系對學生所開設的建模培訓已取得初步成效。