Tuesday, 11 September 2018 Summer Camp Math is cool: how science can be fun
At the end of August, an international group of high school pupils participated to the 8th Famnit Summer Camp Math is Cool.
21 young math-enthusiasts enjoyed the five-day long programme of educational, research and social activities in Slovenian and English language. This year they came to Koper from other parts of Slovenia (7), and from Macedonia (6), France (2), Slovakia (2), Poland (2), Hungary (1) and Serbia (1). As usually, the programme was diverse, and the topics new, as some participants have been taking part in the camp for several years in a row, and each time they are looking for new knowledge.
During the lectures, they learned about the functioning of the human brain from a mathematical point of view, they dealt with the theory of combinatorial games, the optimization and planning of transport in the GoOpti system, and the problem of consensus. In addition to the research and project work, groups had the chance to learn more about the world of finance, cryptocurrency and mathematics in biology.
For Akos from Slovakia, it was the first time in Slovenia. Before starting his Bachelor studies in Budapest, he wished to spend a few days by the sea and, of course, in company of young mathematicians: "I really like Koper. Lectures and workshops are of high quality, and I am enjoying the most all topics regarding optimization and game theory." Nina from Paris came to Koper after attending another summer camp in France. In the future, she sees herself in the field of engineering and space technology. The fields she is the most interested in are game theory and cryptology. "I like mathematics because it is precise," says the young math-enthusiast, adding that the friendly atmosphere on the Faculty contributed to the success of the camp.
Jan from Slovenia is a regular participant to the camp – this was his fourth time in Koper. "Topics are similar every year, but each time the programme offers new, diverse and interesting activities.” While studying math, he learned that big problems can be divided into small ones in a very elegant way. “I like the applicability of the game theory and graph theory - for example, when optimizing the GoOpti system."
Luka from Gornja Radgona (Slovenia) attended the camp for the first time. "My math teacher forwarded me the information about the camp and I am really pleased that I decided to come here. The atmosphere is very nice and I also like the fact that I can speak English too. Mathematical topics are presented in a different, more interesting way."
Read more about the programme on this link.
Our math students actively participated to the camp as tutors and assistants. One of them was Barbara Vesel, student of the MSc programme Mathematical Science, who decided to study at UP FAMNIT after a positive experience at the camp. "Just after high school I attended the camp and decided to study here. Mathematics is really cool, because it is logical and it is present everywhere. We use it every day, even unconsciously." Đorđe Mitrović, 1st year student of Mathematics, participated to many mathematical camps and workshops. For him, math has always represented a challenge: "Everything has its meaning, and it is also intertwined and logically connected," he says, and describes the participants of the camp as extremely curious and interested in almost everything.
The Summer Camp aims to promote science and present its use in practice. Math is introduced as a fun, interesting and, above all, useful science. The success of these activities are confirmed by the fact that some participants have been returning to Koper year after year.
