An intensive four-day mathematics training program awaits the best performing participants in the "12 Saturdays" math workshop of the Mathematics Trainers Guild Phils. (MTG) which drew over 3,000 elementary and high school students nationwide.
This was disclosed by MTG head Dr. Simon Chua yesterday, noting the math aces will be trimmed down to what he calls the "best of the bunch."
The students will move on to MTG's rigorous four-day Young Mathematicians In-House Intensive Training Program (YMITP), set to be held from April 11 to 14 in Metro Manila. Last year, Tagaytay City hosted the event.
After the training, "the cream of the crop will be eligible for slots in different teams that will represent the country in various math competitions abroad," said Chua.
The contests include, among others, the Po Leung Kuk Primary Math Contest and World Math Olympiad, both in Hong Kong; India International Math Competition in Lucknow; International Math Competition Singapore and International Math Open for Young Achievers, also in the Lion City; Australian Math Competition; International Math and Science Olympiad in China, and the Global Hope Peak Challenge in Macau.
At the YMITP, trainees will be evaluated through a battery of quizzes, examinations, and math assignments.
Aside from the results of written outputs and presentation of solutions, the MTG screening panel will also look into the students' character traits and attitudes.
The YMITP also includes topics in math tilts, number theories, higher Algebra and Geometry, integration of complex numbers and problem-solving strategies, among others.
The training also aims to prepare the Filipino math aces for international competitions and develop their higher order thinking skills to be globally competitive as they foster national and international brotherhood, according to MTG.
Last year, MTG-trained students bagged over 300 medals in several math tilts abroad.
Meanwhile, more than 700 Filipino math aces were among the top scorers in the correspondence-type 2024 Australian Math Competition which drew 53,000 students from 20 countries worldwide.
Just recently, Philippine teams won a total of 93 medals, including five gold, in contests held in Thailand and Taiwan.