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More than 140 high school girls participated in the First Women's Mathematical Olympiad (OMCaF), which took place in the Faculty of Mathematics and Statistics (FME) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC). An initiative organized jointly with the Department of Mathematics of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics of the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Sociedad Catalana de Matemáticas (SCM), a subsidiary of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC).
Awakening mathematical vocations among girls by inviting them to explore this exciting field in a different way has been the objective of this day, in which girls ESO and Baccalaureate students have had to solve mathematical problems from a different perspective than usual in the classrooms of secondary, in which ingenuity has been such an important component to be able to develop certain operations.
The gold medals have gone to Ekaterina Leksina (absolute winner, with a 10 in the test, she also won the gold medal in the Catalan Olympics last December), Eulàlia Gaya Bretonas and Maria Bugrim.
The silver medals, for Maria Borrell Ferrero, Vera Morancho Bargas and Come Markhanovskaya.
The bronze medals were awarded to Candela Osberger Serrano, Alba Jarrett Rodellar and Regina Jiménez Borrell and special mentions to Aileen Sangalli, Abril Junyent Elorza, Judith Bonillo, Sara Guitart Alabart and Nerea Garcia Navarro.
During this first Catalan Women's Mathematical Olympiad, the girls were also able to learn, first-hand, about the daily lives of young Catalan mathematicians, such as the UPC professors and researchers Eva Miranda and Jezabel Curbelo, Clara Cufí, from the UAB, Marina Vegué, from the UB, and Alexia Escudero, studying at the FME who won several medals in the Mathematical Olympiad competitions. They were also accompanied and shared lunch with other female mathematicians who are leaders in diverse professional sectors, ranging from financial systems to computer vision, through artificial intelligence or neural networks, along with other students from the UB, the UAB and UPC.
The day took place in a collaborative environment and, for many of the girls attending, the experience meant the opportunity to come into contact with the university for the first time. In this first edition, the Olympiad brought together more than a hundred girls who attend ESO and Baccalaureate and who come from 80 educational centers in about 50 municipalities throughout Catalonia, such as Barcelona, La Garriga, Canovelles, Súria, Vilafranca del Penedès , Cassà de la Selva, Castelldefels, Esparreguera, Abrera, Sant Cugat, Rubí, Figueres, Lleida, Berga, Igualada, Puigcerdá, Cornellà and Girona.
Mathematical experience beyond problem solving
In addition to problem solving, the students participated in two recreational activities that have a usually unknown mathematical aspect, such as origami or finding the best strategies to escape from an escape room.
The rector of the UPC, Daniel Crespo, participated in the conclusion of the day and in the awards ceremony; the general secretary of the Digital Society of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Gina Tost; the general director of Knowledge Transfer and Society of the Department of Research and Universities, Laia Arnal; the general director of the Department of Business and Labor, Liliana Arroyo; the deputy director general of Curriculum Planning of the Department of Education, Rita Ossó; the president of the Catalan Mathematics Society, Montserrat Alsina; the dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Statistics, Jordi Guàrdia; the vice-deagan of research at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics of the UB, Joana Cirici; the dean of the Faculty of Sciences of the UAB, Juan Jesús Donaire, and the director of the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation, Jordi Mas.
The girls best classified in the Catalan Women's Mathematical Olympiad will be able to participate in the selection process for the European Girls Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO).
The Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation, the Department of Education of the Government of Catalonia, the association Apotema and the companies Accenture and AilyLabs will collaborate in the organization of the day.
