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Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar Hosts 500 Students for Pi Day Math Contest

Jocelyn Duffy

Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, a Qatar Foundation partner university, recently hosted 500 high school students at the 2023 Pi Day Mathematics Competition. A total of 126 teams participated, representing 82 government and private Qatar high schools.

A spacious room filled with numerous student competitors seated at black tables, suggesting an academic competition, with a focused atmosphere and organized layout.
About 500 students from 82 schools participated in the Pi Day Mathematics Competition.

Zelealem Yilma, associate teaching professor of mathematics at CMU-Q, has been an organizer of the event since it was first held in 2016.

"We are so pleased to see so many students participate. It shows that students are drawn to an intellectual challenge, and they enjoy solving problems."

The teams tackle questions that challenge their logical and reasoning ability. The question set, which is available in both English and Arabic, is designed to be accessible, with some challenging problems for more advanced students.

Four teams advanced to the final round: Two teams are from DPS Modern Indian School, one is from DPS Monarch International School, and one is from Qatar International School.

The final round is scheduled for the week of March 14 (3/14), often known as Pi Day. Pi represents the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, an irrational number rounded to 3.14. Pi Day is embraced by mathematicians and educators worldwide as an opportunity to celebrate and encourage learning in mathematics.