A group of four students from Kāpiti College has been selected as one of two teams to represent New Zealand in the International Mathematical Modelling Challenge (IMMC).
The competition encourages groups of college students from around the world to extend their mathematical reasoning by breaking down a complex real-world scenario.
Across five days, participants are tasked with solving a problem by representing the situation through a mathematical model, highlighting the methods and logic used, then summarising the findings in a simple, understandable way in a 20 page report.
The 2020 IMMC required students to develop a model that would predict shop layouts to minimise damage to store products during a flash sale.
The team, consisting of Antonio Salamat, Maia Gasson, Miranda Xu, and Ryan King, created a computer simulation and a system of equations that quantified movement of shoppers and the risk of items being damaged.
