The Philippines once again made history in the international mathematics arena as a third year student becomes the first Filipina to capture a medal at the International Mathematics Olympiad.
Carmela Antoinette Lao from Saint Jude Catholic School won a bronze medal at the 50th International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO) recently held at Bremen, Germany.
Lao garnered a total of 15 points placing her rank at 249 out of the 565 contestants from all over the world who participated at the competition.
This is the first time that a Filipina student obtained a medal from the IMO in the Philippines’ two decades of participation.
With this, the Philippines ranking in the IMO has also improved to number 78 from number 86 last year of the 104 participating countries at the competition.
Lao’s win comes at the heels of the Philippines’ triumphant campaign at the 2008 IMO where Diogo Miguel Moitinho de Almeida of Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) bagged a bronze medal.
The Filipina junior student is a recipient of the 2008 Youth Excellence in Science Award, a medal given by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to students who obtained recognition in international competitions.
Dr. Ian June Garces of ADMU and team leader of the 2009 IMO contingent to Germany said the IMO is the largest, the most prestigious and the most difficult mathematics competition among the best secondary students in the world.
Garces said getting a medal in the IMO was hard especially with the type of questions that are given and the percentage of students getting a medal.
“As an IMO rule, to get a medal, you must be at the top 50 percent among all the contestants, and the numbers of bronze, silver and gold medallists must be in the ratio of 3:2:1,” he said.
Science Education Institute (SEI) Director Dr. Ester B. Ogena expressed jubilee at the Philippines’ victory at the IMO.
“Once again, we made history with Carmela’s win in the IMO. We have not only shown to the world that Filipinos can do it, but, that Filipinas can achieve even in this kind of competition,” she said.
Ogena said that the Philippines’ improving ranking in the IMO would be a good proof of the advancing mathematics education in the country.
“Our students are getting better every year and we are optimistic that every year, we would see an improvement in our standing at the IMO,” she said.
The DOST-SEI is tasked to provide support mechanisms in nurturing the gifted and talented students in science and mathematics.
Ogena added that DOST-SEI shall continue to provide support to students who have been trained and selected to compete in international science and mathematics competitions.
“We will be on a continuous lookout for gifted students who can be trained and exposed to local and international competitions to further hone their skills,” she said.
Ogena expressed hope that the victories the Philippines is getting abroad in competitions would translate into more students pursuing science and technology careers.
“The Philippines need our gifted students to pursue S&T careers and bolster the development of the country to an innovation powerhouse,” she said. (30)
