DURBAN: UKZN student Aaron Naidu, who took first place in the South African Tertiary Mathematics Olympiad, said the secret was to understand mathematical concepts rather than just memorising formulae and procedures.
Naidu, 19, from Cowie’s Hill, is a second year student of BSc in data science at UKZN.
Undergraduate and honours students from universities across South Africa took part in the olympiad this week.
“It tests mathematical problem-solving skills by asking questions that require unusual or creative solutions, making it harder to prepare for than regular tests that tend to ask similar questions every year,” Naidu said who tied in first place with Ralph McDougall, from Stellenbosch University, and Tim Schlesinger, from the University of Cape Town.
“It consists of 20 short answer questions which participants must attempt in two hours. Normally the paper is written at the universities but, last year and this year, it was done fully online.”
Naidu, who matriculated from Eden College in Durban, said this was his third time entering the competition.
“This is also my second win. I won in 2019 when I was still in high school and last year I emerged second.”
Speaking about his career choice, Naidu said: “I chose this field because it allows me to combine my passions for mathematics and computer programming to solve interesting and challenging real-world problems.”
Naidu said the reason why some student found maths challenging was because “too many students tried to learn the formulae needed for a test and how to apply them instead of focussing on where the formulae come from and why we do things the way we do.
“Aside from that, I think that it is important to work and practice consistently throughout the year rather than trying to cram in the week before the exam.”
IOL