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Texas A&M University at Qatar hosts math camp attracting young students across Qatar

Published Dec 27, 2017

Texas A&M University at Qatar hosted the Second AGYA Math Olympiad Camp to provide young students in Qatar an opportunity to engage in math activities and to foster their talents. Fifty students from schools across Qatar in all grade levels participated in the camp.

The Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA) brings together Arab and German scholars to face shared challenges and develop solutions through research cooperation. The camp is one endeavor of the academy and aims to teach gifted students new problem-solving techniques and mathematical concepts. The camp serves as an ideal preparation for students interested in international math competitions, such as the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).

The camp guides students to not only develop new skills and reach their next level of mastering mathematics, but also to gain valuable experiences in a competitive setting. The internal competition during the camp served as an excellent training ground for students and a platform to gain insights for those interested in international math competitions.

Camp instructors and 50 teaching volunteers included experts and teachers from Germany and Qatar with years of experience in national and international math competitions. 

Dr. Ahmad El-Guindy, associate professor of mathematics at Texas A&M at Qatar and event organizer, said, “We received more than 350 applications from students and teaching volunteers for this camp. The response was immense and the selected students were all exceptionally gifted. Math is my passion and the same could be said for the accepted students and teachers. We cultivated a group of like-minded math enthusiasts. We were successful in taking that passion beyond the surface level and plunged deep into concepts like geometry and number theory in an inspiring environment.”

The camp concluded with a keynote address and panel discussion on the topic of raising awareness for the social relevance of math education as well as student-centered activities and innovative learning environments. The event took place in the framework of the Qatar-Germany Year of Culture 2017. The keynote, “Mathematics as a Driving Force of Social Development,” was delivered by the President of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW) Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Martin Grötschel.

The camp served as an excellent platform for productive interaction between students, trainers, teachers and professors from Qatar and Germany and The Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA) and Texas A&M at Qatar played a part in further strengthening the cooperation and consensus between the two countries.