Mathematics and Statistics Research Competition

The School of Mathematics and Statistics Research Competition provides high-school students with the opportunity to understand what it means to conduct mathematics and solve mathematical problems.

The students will be given a set of eight open-ended questions from which they choose one. They can then use some of the methods used by mathematical researchers to investigate their problem; they can gather data, simplify, visualise, hypothesise, conjecture and prove. The aim of the competition is to allow students to use their creativity and problem-solving skills to make choices about how best to ask and answer questions about their chosen project. Students can compete individually, or they can compete as a team in order to foster a positive environment, giving them the opportunity to reason and work collaboratively.

Eligibility

Students must be currently enrolled in an Australian government or non-government school. The competition is open to three age groups: Juniors (Years 5 - 6), Intermediate (Years 7 - 9) and Senior (Years 10 - 12).

Students may compete individually or in a team of up to three people. If a team includes students from different age groups, then they must register in the age category of the oldest student. Schools may enter multiple teams, but students may only participate in one team.

The 2021 brochure will be available early in 2021. If you would like to express an interest in taking part and be sent the brochure, please click the link below.

Expression of interest

Downloads

Each team selects one of the eight research questions to work on, there are different questions for each age group category. Once they have finished their research, they must present their findings.

They may do this by either:

  1. Writing a formal report, or
  2. Creating a visual display

All work must be the sole product of the registering team.

Students have until 16 July 2021 to complete their research and submit their completed project. The twelve winning teams will be contacted in the week commencing 30 August.

The twelve finalists (four from each age grouping) will be invited to participate in the 2021 Research Competition Finals Presentation which will be run as an online webinar in October (date still to be determined). Each team will have a 10-minute slot in which to present a brief synopsis of their project and to answer some questions from the judging panel and other academics. Students competing in teams can elect to have multiple speakers or just choose one speaker. At the end of the presentation time, the top research project will be selected for each age group.

Prize structure

There are twelve prizes. The top research project in each age category receives $1500 and the three runners up in each age category receive $600. All teams who successfully submit a completed research project will receive a certificate for either participation, merit, highly commended, distinction or as a finalist.

Judging

The criteria for judging will vary depending on the age category and the complexity of the research project. However, whenever explicit mathematics is involved, mathematical accuracy is vitally important, as is the correct use of mathematical language.

In addition to these, the judging criteria include elements for originality, creativity, communication and presentation.

For further information please contact ms-outreach@ms.unimelb.edu.au.

The registration link will be available early in 2021.

The 2021 brochure will be available early in 2021. If you would like to express an interest in taking part in the competition and be sent the brochure, please click the link below:

Expression of interest

The inaugural Research Competition Finals Presentation was hosted in October 2020 via Zoom. All ten presentations were of excellent quality which made choosing an overall winner very challenging. The senior finals were in fact so difficult to judge that they ended up with a three-way tie.

Congratulations to the 2020 winning teams. You can view the winning projects using the links below.

Intermediate Top Winners received $1500

Intermediate Finalists received $600

Senior Top Winners received $900

Senior Finalists received $600