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[[File:New IMC Logo.jpg|thumb]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}

The '''International Mathematics Competition (IMC) for University Students''' is an annual [[list of mathematics competitions|mathematics competition]] open to all undergraduate aged students of [[mathematics]].<ref>{{Cite web  |url =http://imc-math.ddns.net/?show=home  |title =Welcome to the IMC2018!  |publisher =imc-math.ddns.net  |date =2018-07-28  |accessdate =2018-09-30  |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20180930193230/http://imc-math.ddns.net/?show=home  |archive-date =30 September 2018  |url-status =dead  }}</ref> Participating students are expected to be at most twenty-three years of age at the time of the IMC, although some exceptions can be made. The IMC is primarily a competition for individuals, although most participating [[university|universities]] select and send one or more teams of students. The working language is English.

The IMC is a residential competition and all student participants are required to stay in the accommodation provided by the organisers. It aims to provide a friendly, comfortable and secure environment for university mathematics students to enjoy mathematics with their peers from all around the world, to broaden their world perspective and to be inspired to set mathematical goals for themselves that might not have been previously imaginable or thought possible. Notably, in 2018 Caucher Birkar (born Fereydoun Derakhshani), an Iranian Kurdish mathematician, who participated in the 7th IMC<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucahjej/imc/imc2000/results.html|title=IMC – International Mathematics Competition for University Students|first=C|last=Draganova|website=ucl.ac.uk|accessdate=2 August 2018}}</ref> held at [[University College London]] in 2000, received mathematics' most prestigious award, the [[Fields Medal]].<ref>{{Cite web |url =https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/aug/01/former-refugee-among-winners-of-fields-medal-the-nobel-prize-for-maths |title = Former IMC participant among winners of Fields medal – the 'Nobel prize for maths' |work =The Guardian |date =2018-08-01  |accessdate =2018-10-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web  |url =http://www.icm2018.org/wp/2018/08/02/researchers-from-germany-india-iran-and-italy-win-the-2018-fields-medal/  |title =International Congress of Mathematicians, Fields Medalists  |publisher =uicm2018.org  |date =2018-08-02  |accessdate =2018-11-07  |archive-date =30 March 2019  |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20190330032041/http://www.icm2018.org/wp/2018/08/02/researchers-from-germany-india-iran-and-italy-win-the-2018-fields-medal/  |url-status =dead  }}</ref> He is now a professor at [[Tsinghua University]] and at the [[University of Cambridge]]. In 2022 a Kyiv-born mathematician, Maryna Viazovska, was also awarded the Fields Medal.<ref>{{Cite news  |url =https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/jul/05/fields-medal-kyiv-maryna-viazovska-oxford-expert-james-maynard-winners  |date =2022-10-21  |accessdate =2022-10-21 |website =[[TheGuardian.com]] |title =Fields medal: Kyiv-born professor and Oxford expert among winners |last1 =Davis |first1 =Nicola |last2 =Sample |first2 =Ian }}</ref> She participated in the IMC as a student four times, in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. She is now a Professor and the Chair of Number Theory at the Institute of Mathematics of the [[École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne]] in Switzerland.

Students from over 200 universities from over 50 countries have participated over the first thirty-one competitions. At the 29th IMC in 2022 participants were awarded Individual Result Prizes, Fair Play Prizes and Most Efficient Team Leader Prizes.<ref>{{Cite web  |url =https://imc-math.org.uk/?year=2022&item=results  |title =Prizes/Closing Ceremony IMC 2022  |publisher =imc-math.org.uk  |date =2022-10-21  |accessdate =2022-10-21}}</ref>

[[University College London]]<ref>{{Cite web |url =https://www.ucl.ac.uk/
 |title =UCL London's Global University  |publisher = ucl.ac.uk  |date =2018-11-05  |accessdate =2018-11-05}}</ref> has been involved in the organisation of the IMC and Professor John E. Jayne<ref>{{Cite web |url =http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucahjej/
 |title =J E Jayne UCL Home Page  |publisher = ucl.ac.uk|date =2018-07-20  |accessdate =2018-11-07}}</ref> has served as the President from the beginning in 1994. The IMC runs over five or six days during which the competitors sit two five-hour examinations, each with five questions (six until 2008) chosen by a panel and representatives from the participating universities.  Problems are from the fields of Algebra, Analysis (Real and Complex), Combinatorics and Geometry.<ref>{{Cite web  |url =https://www.imc-math.org.uk/?year=2019&item=problems  |title =Problems & Solutions IMC 2019  |publisher =imc-math.org.uk  |date =2019-07-28  |accessdate =2019-11-05}}</ref>

==History==
The IMC began in 1994 in [[Plovdiv]], [[Bulgaria]], with 49 participants, mostly from [[Bulgaria]], and was hosted by [[Plovdiv University "Paisii Hilendarski"]]. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th IMC were also hosted by [[Plovdiv University "Paisii Hilendarski"]] in [[Plovdiv]]. From 1996 to 1999 the IMC was one of the activities of the Structural Joint [[European Union]] [[TEMPUS]] Project #S_JEP-11087-96, entitled "Modular Education in Mathematics and Informatics",<ref>{{Cite web |url =https://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucahjej/Tempus/
 |title =Structural Joint European Project #S_JEP-11087-96  |publisher =ucl.ac.uk  |date =1996-01-09  |accessdate =2019-02-03}}</ref> which was the flag ship [[European Union]] [[TEMPUS]] Project<ref>{{Cite web |url =https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/sites/2007-2013/tempus-programme_en
 |title =EU Tempus Programme  |publisher =eacea.ec.europa.eu  |date =2013-01-01  |accessdate =2019-01-13}}</ref> in [[Bulgaria]] at the time, aimed at bringing Bulgaria's university mathematics and computing degree programs into line with those in the [[European Union]] in preparation for Bulgaria's entry into the [[European Union]]. [[University College London]] was the Contractor for this [[European Union]] [[TEMPUS]] Project and Professor Jayne was the Coordinator and Managing Director of the Project. During this period Professor Jayne was awarded Honorary DSc Degrees from [[Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski]] in 1996 and from [[Shumen University]] in 1998.  In 1998 the 5th IMC was moved to [[Blagoevgrad]], [[Bulgaria]], and was hosted by both the [[South-West University "Neofit Rilski"]] in [[Blagoevgrad]] and the [[American University in Bulgaria]]. The 5th IMC had 80 participants from 9 countries, marking a significant milestone in its history.<ref>{{Cite web  |url =https://www.imc-math.org.uk/index.php?year=1998  |title =Fifth IMC 1998  |publisher =imc-math.org.uk  |date =1998-07-28  |accessdate =2020-01-26}}</ref>

The 6th IMC was hosted by [[Eötvös Loránd University]] and held on [[Lake Balaton]] in [[Keszthely]], [[Hungary]], the 7th IMC was hosted by [[University College London]] in [[London]], the 8th IMC was hosted by [[Charles University]] in [[Prague]], [[Czech Republic]], the 9th IMC was hosted by the [[University of Warsaw]] in [[Warsaw]], [[Poland]], the 10th IMC was hosted by [[Babeș-Bolyai University]] in [[Cluj-Napoca]], [[Romania]], the 11th IMC was hosted by [[Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje]] in [[Skopje]], [[Republic of Macedonia|Macedonia]], the 12th IMC was hosted by [[American University in Bulgaria]] in [[Blagoevgrad]], the 13th IMC was hosted by [[Odesa University]] in [[Odesa]], [[Ukraine]], the 14th IMC and 15th IMC were again hosted by the [[American University in Bulgaria]] in [[Blagoevgrad]], and the 16th IMC was hosted by the [[Eötvös Loránd University]] in [[Budapest]]. In 2009 the 16th IMC had 347 student participants and 65 teams. Since 2010 the IMC has been hosted by the [[American University in Bulgaria]], in [[Blagoevgrad]], with assistance from the [[South-West University "Neofit Rilski"]] in [[Blagoevgrad]].<ref>{{Cite web |url =http://bnr.bg/en/post/100998690/blagoevgrad-hosts-international-mathematics-olympiad-for-university-students |title =Blagoevgrad hosts IMC  |publisher =bnr.bg  |date =2017-07-23  |accessdate =2018-10-19}}</ref> The 26th IMC had 360 student participants and 77 teams.<ref>{{Cite web  |url =https://www.imc-math.org.uk/?year=2019&item=info  |title =Participants and Teams IMC 2019  |publisher =imc-math.org.uk  |date =2019-07-28  |accessdate =2019-11-05}}</ref> The 27th and 28th IMCs were held on-line due to the global pandemic. The 29th IMC was hybrid with both in-person and on-line participants. It had 663 student participants and 100 teams.<ref>{{Cite web  |url =https://imc-math.org.uk/?year=2022&item=results  |title =Participants and Teams IMC 2022  |publisher =imc-math.org.uk  |date =2022-10-21  |accessdate =2021-10-21}}</ref> The 30th IMC returned to being on only in-person event. It had 393 student participants and 72 teams.<ref>{{Cite web  |url =https://www.imc-math.org.uk/?year=2023&item=results  |title =Participants and Teams IMC 2023  |publisher =imc-math.org.uk  |date =2023-10-02  |accessdate =2023-10-02}}</ref> The 31st IMC had 401 student participants, and 82 team leaders from 52 countries.<ref>{{Cite web  |url =https://www.imc-math.org.uk/?act=results&by=sum&year=2024  |title =Participants and Teams IMC 2024  |publisher =imc-math.org.uk  |date =2024-11-07  |accessdate =2024-11-07}}</ref>

==Notable Past Award Winners==
* [[Caucher Birkar]], Fields Medal Winner and Professor at the University of Cambridge.
* [[Maryna Viazovska]], Fields Medal Winner and Professor at EPFL. 
* Roman Karasev. Professor at Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology
* Nima Anari, Professor at Stanford University.
* Maryam Saeedi, Professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
* Ali Kakhbod, Professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
* Gabriel Kreindler, Professor at Harvard University.
* Martin D. Kassabov, Professor at Cornell University.
* Andrej Zlatoš, Professor at UC San Diego.
* Marianna Csörnyei, Professor at the University of Chicago.
* Florian Herzig, Professor at the University of Toronto.
* Simion Filip, Professor at the University of Chicago.
* Rasool Etesami, Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
* Behrouz Touri, Professor at the University of California, San Diego.
* Kaveh Kasebian, Professor at Virginia Tech.
* Naser Talebizadeh Sardari, Professor at Penn State University.
* Jalal Etesami, Professor at the Technical University of Munich.
* Sam Nariman, Professor at Purdue University.
* Gaku Liu, Professor at the University of Washington.
* Djordje Milicevic, Professor at Bryn Mawr College.
* Anton Mellit, Assoz. Professor at the University of Vienna.
* Samuel Hapák, CEO, Director, WINCENT.

==Summary== 
{| class="wikitable" align=center
|- style="background:#ccf;"
! style="vertical-align: bottom; width: 90px;"|'''Number'''<br/>
! style="vertical-align: bottom; width: 90px;"|'''Year'''<br/>
! style="vertical-align: bottom; width: 180px;" | '''Host City'''<br/>
! style="vertical-align: bottom; width: 180px;" | '''Host Country'''<br/>
! style="vertical-align: bottom; width: 180px;" | '''Dates'''<br/>
|-
| align=center|1st || align=center|IMC 1994  ||  align=center|[[Plovdiv]] ||align=left|{{BUL}}  ||  28 July–2 August
|-
| align=center|2nd || align=center|IMC 1995  ||  align=center|[[Plovdiv]] ||align=left|{{BUL}}  ||  2–7 August
|-
| align=center|3rd || align=center|IMC 1996 || align=center|[[Plovdiv]] ||align=left|{{BUL}} || 31 July–5 August
|-
| align=center|4th || align=center|IMC 1997  || align=center|[[Plovdiv]] ||align=left|{{BUL}} || 30 July–4 August
|-
| align=center|5th || align=center|IMC 1998  || align=center|[[Blagoevgrad]]||align=left|{{BUL}}  ||  29 July–3 August
|-
| align=center|6th || align=center|IMC 1999  || align=center|[[Keszthely]]  || align=left|{{HUN}}|| 29 July–2 August
|-
| align=center|7th || align=center|IMC 2000   || align=center|[[London]]  || align=left|{{ENG}}|| 26–31 July
|-
| align=center|8th || align=center|IMC 2001   || align=center|[[Prague]]  ||  align=left|{{CZE}}|| 19–25 July
|-
| align=center|9th || align=center|IMC 2002   ||align=center|[[Warsaw]]  ||  align=left|{{POL}}||19–25 July
|-
| align=center|10th || align=center|IMC 2003  ||align=center|[[Cluj-Napoca]]  ||  align=left|{{ROM}}||25–31 July
|-
| align=center|11th || align=center|IMC 2004   ||align=center|[[Skopje]]  || align=left|{{MKD}}||23–29 July
|-
| align=center|12th || align=center|IMC 2005  || align=center|[[Blagoevgrad]]||align=left|{{BUL}}  ||  22–28 July
|-
| align=center|13th || align=center|IMC 2006  ||align=center|[[Odesa]]  || align=left|{{UKR}} || 20–26 July
|-
| align=center|14th || align=center|IMC 2007  || align=center|[[Blagoevgrad]] ||align=left|{{BUL}}|| 3–9 August
|-
| align=center|15th || align=center|IMC 2008  || align=center|[[Blagoevgrad]] ||align=left|{{BUL}} ||25–31 July
|-
| align=center|16th || align=center|IMC 2009   ||align=center|[[Budapest]]  || align=left|{{HUN}}  ||25–30 July
|-
| align=center|17th || align=center|IMC 2010  || align=center|[[Blagoevgrad]]||align=left|{{BUL}}  ||  24–30 July
|-
| align=center|18th || align=center|IMC 2011  || align=center|[[Blagoevgrad]]||align=left|{{BUL}}  ||  28 July–3 August
|-
| align=center|19th || align=center|IMC 2012  || align=center|[[Blagoevgrad]]||align=left|{{BUL}}  ||  26 July–1 August
|-
| align=center|20th || align=center|IMC 2013  || align=center|[[Blagoevgrad]]||align=left|{{BUL}}  ||  6–12 August
|-
| align=center|21st || align=center|IMC 2014  ||  align=center|[[Blagoevgrad]]||align=left|{{BUL}}  ||  29 July–4 August
|-
| align=center|22nd || align=center|IMC 2015  ||  align=center|[[Blagoevgrad]]||align=left|{{BUL}}  || 27 July–2 August
|-
| align=center|23rd || align=center|IMC 2016  || align=center|[[Blagoevgrad]] ||align=left|{{BUL}}  || 25–31 July
|-
| align=center|24th || align=center|IMC 2017  || align=center|[[Blagoevgrad]]||align=left|{{BUL}}  ||  31 July–6 August
|-
| align=center|25th || align=center|IMC 2018 || align=center|[[Blagoevgrad]]||align=left|{{BUL}}  ||  22–28 July
|-
| align=center|26th || align=center|IMC 2019 || align=center|[[Blagoevgrad]]||align=left|{{BUL}}  ||  28 July–3 August
|-
| align=center|27th || align=center|IMC 2020 || align=center|ON-LINE||align=left|ON-LINE  ||  25–30 July
|-
| align=center|28th || align=center|IMC 2021 || align=center|ON-LINE||align=left|ON-LINE  ||  2–7 August
|-
| align=center|29th || align=center|IMC 2022 || align=center|[[Blagoevgrad]]||align=left|{{BUL}}  ||  1–7 August
|-
| align=center|30th || align=center|IMC 2023 || align=center|[[Blagoevgrad]]||align=left|{{BUL}}  ||  31 July–6 August
|-
| align=center|31st || align=center|IMC 2024 || align=center|[[Blagoevgrad]]||align=left|{{BUL}}  ||  5 August–11 August
|-
| align=center|32nd || align=center|IMC 2025 || align=center|[[Blagoevgrad]]||align=left|{{BUL}}  ||  28 July–3 August
|-
|}

== See also ==
* [[List of mathematics competitions]]
* [[Intermediate Mathematical Challenge]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.imc-math.org.uk/ IMC Official Website]
*[https://www.lms.ac.uk/sites/lms.ac.uk/files/files/NLMS_475.pdf London Mathematical Society Newsletter March 2018, page 11]
*[https://www.ams.org/opportunities American Mathematical Society Opportunities "Contests and Competitions"]
*[http://www.studentcompetitions.com/competitions/international-mathematics-competition-for-university-students-imc Profile at Student Competitions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619062902/https://studentcompetitions.com/competitions/international-mathematics-competition-for-university-students-imc |date=19 June 2018 }}
*[https://www.aubg.edu/news/380-mathematicians-from-48-countries-compete-at-aubg-1059 American University in Bulgaria IMC News]

{{International mathematical activities}}

[[Category:European student competitions|Maths]]
[[Category:Mathematics competitions]]
[[Category:Recurring events established in 1994]]