Helping whiz kids at maths Olympics adds up to good fun

To many, the mission of tending to the youthful whims and needs of this international cream of the academic crop may seem far too daunting a prospect.
But that’s not the case with Kunwara Lapanan, a student at the Chiang Mai University’s (CMU) Associated Medical Sciences.
“I recognised it as an opportunity and a good life experience,” Kunwara said.
She was one of the liaison staff for the 56th International Mathematical Olympiad, which took place in Chiang Mai two years ago.
Kunwara said that after seeing an advertisement for the posts and hearing a lecturer promote the role, she submitted her application. “After passing the interview, I was assigned to take care of six contestants from Belgium,” she said.
She had fun with her duties, she said, because the children under her care were friendly, flexible and well-organised.
Although the International Mathematical Olympiad was definitely an important contest and a dream for many children, the children under Kunwara’s care showed no signs of being stressed out.
“They were well relaxed. On their first day here, they even played table tennis,” she recounted.
Kunwara said during her time with the children, she had learned many things from them.
“For one, it’s clear you may compete but not for the sake of victory. Participation in a competition may be done for various other things such as friendship, teamwork, sharing, and exchanges of knowledge,” she pointed out.
Kunwara said that when the Olympiads appeared in news reports, many of the audience may have assumed it was all about boring academic stuff.
But behind the scenes, Kunwara said there were fun activities going on along the way. Newsletters for participants, for example, featured interesting stories related to the whiz kids. “There were birthday announcements, maths games and reward handouts,” she said.
Suttimanas Shin-akarapong, another liaison staff member at Thailand-hosted Olympiad, said he snatched an opportunity to join the international contest because he wanted to improve his language skills.
“Our main duty was to take care of children. If they had any question or needed any help, we had to be there for them,” he said.
Suttimanas, who studied at the Chiang Mai University’s Mass Communication Faculty, said he in return got valuable life experiences.
“I’d witnessed with my own eyes how children from various countries in the world socialise, live, work as a team and solve problems at hand,” he said.
Both Suttimanas and Kunwara have applied for the posts of liaison staff at the upcoming International Mathematical Olympiadin Rio in July.
“It’s a great experience and I wish to encourage other students to do the same,” Kunwara said.
Every year, the International Mathematical Olympiad attracts contestants from across the world including Thai students . Many have returned home with medals.
Between 1989 and 2016, Thai children won 18 gold medals, 50 silver medals, and 22 bronzes from the International Mathematical Olym-piad. Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology director Pornpun Waitayangkoon said there were now about 11 gifted students per 10,000 children.
“But Thailand needs 25 gifted students per 10,000 children to ensure its competitiveness at the international level,” she added.