On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Vietnam's participation in the International Mathematical Olympiad - IMO (1974 - 2024), today, August 10, the Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics in collaboration with the Vietnam Mathematical Society organized a series of commemorative activities to summarize and evaluate the discovery, training and nurturing of young mathematical talents in the past and orient future development.

The series of activities is also an opportunity to honor and express gratitude to generations of teachers who have participated in nurturing excellent students, generations of students who have participated in national math competitions, international and regional Olympic team selection exams (TST), IMO team students... contributing to the journey of the past 50 years.

Vietnam has participated in the International Mathematical Olympiad since 1974, has participated in IMO competitions 48 times with 288 contestants (including 18 female contestants), won 271 medals (including 69 gold medals, 117 silver medals, 85 bronze medals), the percentage of students winning medals is 94%.

In 50 years, there have been 10 excellent students achieving perfect scores, 10 students winning 2 gold medals. In terms of unofficial team achievements, the Vietnamese team has been in the world's top 10 in most years of competition.

Professor Ngo Bao Chau is one of 10 Vietnamese students to date who have won gold medals twice (at IMO 1988 and 1989). He is currently the Scientific Director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics and a professor at the University of Chicago, USA. He is the first and only Vietnamese to date to win the Fields Medal.

To achieve the excellent results of Vietnamese students through nearly 50 times participating in IMO, the organizing committee believes that besides the intelligence, diligence and efforts of the students, it is also thanks to the teaching and care of teachers, the attention and facilitation of managers and especially the policies of the state and directly of the Ministry of Education and Training.

Achievements in international exams at high school level affirm the thinking ability of the young Vietnamese generation, contributing to encouraging learning and training talented people...

According to the assessment of the organizing committee of the 50th anniversary of Vietnam's participation in IMO, the development of specialized schools, as well as the system of national excellent student competitions and competitions to select teams to participate in regional and international competitions, have created a learning movement in schools, contributing to discovering and nurturing talents at the high school level, contributing to the cause of continuous innovation and improving the quality of education in Vietnam.

Many students discovered from national and international competitions for excellent students have achieved excellent results in higher education, becoming famous professors, scientists in the world, businessmen, technology talents, dedicated teachers, talented managers. In every field, former students of the IMO team have shown their uniqueness and success.

The High School for the Gifted in Natural Sciences (University of Natural Sciences, Vietnam National University, Hanoi) is the unit that accounts for 30.3% of the total number of medals nationwide (of which 46.4% are gold medals, 26.5% are silver medals and 22.4% are bronze medals) and has 6/10 students (accounting for 60%) achieving absolute scores compared to the whole country.

The International Mathematical Olympiad is an annual competition for high school students around the world. It was first held in 1959 in Romania.