Teams led or joined by the University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute (UM-SJTU JI, JI hereafter) undergraduate students delivered outstanding performance in the 2024 Mathematical Contest in Modeling/ Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (MCM/ICM), claiming awards including two Outstanding Winners, three Finalist Winners, 11 Meritorious Winners, five Honorable Mentions, and 12 Successful Participants for SJTU, according to the results announced by the organizer recently.
The MCM/ICM competition was launched in 1985 by the Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP). It is the only international mathematical modeling contest of its kind and regarded as the Olympic Game of mathematical modeling attracting worldwide contestants every year. The competition is conducted in teams of three members and requires participants to complete modeling and paper writing for a specific real-world problem within four days.
Diagrams of JI teams winning the Outstanding Winner award
A total of 28,912 teams from over 20 countries and regions participated in the contest this year, including students from renowned universities such as Duke University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Carnegie Mellon University, Tsinghua University, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. JI students sponsored by the JI Technology and Innovation Association started to attend the MCM/ICM competition in 2012. So far, they have won a total of five Outstanding Winners, 18 Finalist Winners, 43 Meritorious Winners, 104 Honorable Mention awards.
Certificates of Outstanding Winner award
Hantian Shi, who worked with two other sophomore students from JI to win an Outstanding Winner award, attributed the achievement to strong teamwork featuring clear division of labor, efficient communication, and quick adaptability. “In the competition, we not only gained knowledge and skills but also made like-minded friends. It was not just an enhancement of our abilities but also an unforgettable journey of growth. These experiences have not only improved our professional knowledge and comprehensive abilities but will also benefit us greatly in our future development.”
Shi’s view was echoed by JI junior student Jiankai Li, a recipient of another Outstanding Winner award and a special Vilfredo Pareto Award with three students from SJTU Antai College of Economics and Management. As a key planner and writer of the paper during the competition, he emphasized the importance of staying updated with the modeling work and using careful planning and tools to enhance the paper’s quality within the limited time.