Maths meets conservation
- Jun 10
- 2 min read
Year 12 Statistics students - and good friends - Kabilam Manickam, Oscar Cao, Saswin Kugatheesan and Charlie McElroy have taken their love of mathematics beyond the classroom by entering the IMMC (International Mathematical Modelling Competition) earlier this year.
IMMC challenges students to think like researchers rather than test‑takers, requiring teams to analyse a real‑world problem, justify their assumptions, and communicate their reasoning through a 20‑page research paper completed under strict time constraints.
This year’s problem asked teams to design a defence system for a national wildlife park in Namibia.
“We considered variables like weather, poaching and tourism,” explains Charlie, “and worked out the best way to protect the animals.”
The team developed a resource allocation model that responded to varying emergency levels across the park. They divided the park into four terrain‑based sectors, creating individual models to compare resource needs and prioritise protection efforts.
“We used tools like the Analytical Hierarchy Process and differential equations to model people entering and leaving the park,” says Oscar. “It was about applying maths in a real‑world context, while recognising that models aren’t perfect.”
Beyond the mathematics, the competition tested teamwork and organisation.
“Time management and pulling everything into one coherent paper was the biggest challenge,” said Charlie.
All four students have been part of the school’s accelerated mathematics programme for several years and were drawn to IMMC for its emphasis on application over rote learning. They also acknowledged the guidance of Dr Kang, who has supported them throughout the process.
With their submission complete, the team now awaits the results next month - and strongly encourage other students to consider the competition.
“It’s very similar to a PhD process - you have an advisor, but most of the work is independent and computational,” says Oscar. “It’s more about your process than a final ‘right’ answer, which is incredibly helpful if you want to go into university research.”
