IO, Jakarta – The pandemic has not reduced the enthusiasm of the nation’s children to make international achievements. Recently, a 12th-grade student of the BSD IPEKA Christian School, Stanve Avrilium Widjaja won a proud achievement after successfully winning gold medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) 2020 and the Tuymaada International Olympiad (Tuymaada) 2020, respectively. IMO 2020 was attended by 616 participants from 105 countries, including the toughest competitors, namely China, Russia, and the United States. Whereas Tuymaada 2020 was attended by 151 participants from 7 countries including Russia, Kazakhstan, and Iran.
Although this is the first time Stanve has participated in the IMO and Tuymaada events, Stanve’s first appearance at IMO immediately resulted in a Gold Medal, while at Tuymaada Stanve won the Gold Medal and Absolute Winner. It is common for other participants to have taken part in the competition for two to three times before successfully won the Gold Medal, maturing their experience and mentality.
At IMO 2020, which is the most prestigious math Olympiad in the world, Stanve won the Gold Medal and was ranked 22nd in the world or the best of all participants from Indonesia. In Tuymaada 2020, out of 21 Indonesian participants, Stanve is the only gold winner. He also received the title of Perfect Scorer as well as Absolute Winner or Champion (first place).
The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is an annual international math competition for high school students. IMO is the oldest international science olympiad which was first held in 1959. In 2020, the IMO event was held online from 20 to 28 September 2020. The mechanism is, participants will be monitored by a camera online and accompanied by professional and experienced supervisors.
The process towards IMO starts with school selection and the 2019 District Science Olympiad (OSK). The best participants from each district/city can represent their region to participate in the provincial. Then 77 best participants in Indonesia were selected to take part in the National Science Olympiad (OSN). In 2019, OSN was held in Manado and around 31 children who won medals were selected to participate in the National Training Program (Pelatnas). From the Pelatnas, 6 people were chosen to represent Indonesia in the 2020 IMO event.
In the history of Indonesia’s participation in the IMO event from 1988 to 2020, only 5 students won gold medals. At the beginning of participation, none of the Indonesian participants managed to answer a single question perfectly. It took four years for an Indonesian participant to answer one question perfectly and it took eight years for Indonesia to get the first bronze medal. It was only after 25 years that Indonesia won its first gold medal at IMO in 2013.
The Tuymaada International Olympiad (Tuymaada) is an annual international competition held in Russia for students under 18 years of age. This year, Tuymaada was held online from 1 to 6 October 2020 which was facilitated by a super-sensitive camera to monitor the participants.
Stanve expressed pride and happiness after successfully achieving in competitions whose system has been tested for 61 years, namely IMO and 27 years for Tuymaada. “It is an honor to be able to present a gold medal for Indonesia in the 2020 IMO and Tuymaada 2020 events. To win a medal at IMO is the dream of every math fan in the world. And the achievement of Perfect Scorer as well as Absolute Winner and Gold Medal at Tuymaada is also an honor for me. Moreover, it can compete with strong countries such as China, America, and Russia in IMO and Tuymaada,” said Stanve Avrilium Widjaja.
The principal of IPEKA BSD Christian High School, Kristhianto Nathanael Kainama, expressed his gratitude for the proud achievement. “We at IPEKA BSD Christian School are very grateful to God. Of course, we are delighted and proud that Stanve Avrilium Widjaja has achieved extraordinary achievements and made Indonesia proud in two very prestigious international events. Stanve’s achievements certainly cannot be separated from the prayers, guidance, and support of many parties. Stanve has proven that with high morale, persistence, hard work, and perseverance in a field of interest, it will be able to produce sweet results,” said Kristhianto.
Also, IPEKA BSD Christian School Location Coordinator, Andriani Winoto stated the school’s commitment to supporting student achievement. “We are committed to encouraging every student to fully develop themselves according to their talents, interests, and abilities. Students are given ample opportunities to explore their interests and abilities by participating in various competitions, both in science, language, sports, and other fields,” explained Andriani.
Andriani further conveyed that she hopes that Stanve’s achievements can inspire many other students, both in academics and in any field of interest. The nature of not giving up easily, being persistent in pursuing and developing oneself in an area of interest can be emulated. Hopefully, this achievement can also be a provision to progress further and be a blessing for many people.