The national round of the 23rd Bangladesh Mathematical Olympiad concluded on Saturday with the participation of nearly 3,000 young math enthusiasts along with their guardians. The two-day festival, held at the premises of St. Joseph Higher Secondary School in Dhaka, featured a range of engaging activities alongside the main mathematical competition. Participants played chess, explored artificial intelligence, operated robots, and took part in a Sudoku workshop, with an AI workshop also being conducted as part of the event.
The festival was inaugurated on Friday morning with the slogan “Learn Mathematics, Dream Big” by Brother Leo Pereira, Principal of St. Joseph Higher Secondary School. Among the distinguished guests present were Professor Ilias Uddin Biswas, Vice President of the Bangladesh Mathematical Olympiad Committee and faculty member of the Mathematics Department at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology; Abul Kashem Md. Shirin, Managing Director of Dutch-Bangla Bank; Matiur Rahman, Editor of Prothom Alo; Professor Abdul Hakim Khan from the Mathematics Department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and Vice President of the Bangladesh Mathematical Olympiad Committee; Munir Hasan, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Mathematical Olympiad Committee and Chief Coordinator of Digital Transformation and Youth Programs at Prothom Alo; Associate Professor Mohammad Alamgir Hossain of the Mathematics Department at Jagannath University and Joint Secretary of the Bangladesh Mathematical Olympiad Committee; Professor Tania Sharmin Khalek from the Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Dhaka; and Shahadat Ullah Khan, CEO of Talikhata and a member of the Bangladesh Mathematical Olympiad Committee.
Speaking about the event, Munir Hasan stated, “This year, nearly 75,000 students registered online to participate in the Olympiad. After two selection rounds, 1,200 students qualified for the national round in Dhaka. Now, not only students from outside Dhaka but also those from the capital are attending the festival with their families. Over the last two days, and on the 23rd, mathematics and science books worth over Tk 1 million were sold at the festival. In the past 20+ years, we have published around 300 mathematics-related books, compilations, and translations. Each year, students demand more books. The number of students from the British curriculum is gradually increasing. Yesterday, after the exam, we couldn’t even accommodate all of them in their assigned rooms.”
