Rules of the International Student Team Competition in Mathematics (ISTCiM)
§1 General
1. The organizer of the International Student Team Competition in Mathematics (ISTOCiM) – hereinafter referred to as the Competition – is Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Silesia in Katowice and Uppersilesian Branch of the Polish Mathematical Society - hereinafter referred to as the Organizers.
2. In 2025, the 'International Student Team Competition in Mathematics' project is co-financed by the GZM Metropolis under the 'Metropolitan Science Support Fund' Programme. The grant agreement number is RW/119/2025, and the grant amount is PLN 13,846.00.
3. The Competition is aimed to all students at any stage of their studies (bachelor’s and master’s), as well as to doctoral school candidates, who are interested in mathematics.
4. The Competition takes place every year in the first half of November at the Institute of Mathematics, Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Silesia in Katowice. The exact date of the next edition of the Competition is set not later than by the end of May in the year in which the given edition of the Competition is held.
5. The Competition consists of two parts: individual part and team part.
6. It is also possible to participate in the Competition remotely under the supervision of a local Representative of the Jury.
7. The official language of the Competition is English. Solutions must be written in English. Solutions written in another language will not be accepted.
§2 The objectives of the Competition
1. The aims of the Competition are:
a) to encourage the development of mathematically talented students from all participating higher education institutions, by rewarding their achievements and innovation, motivating them to deepen their knowledge and develop research skills, and to popularise mathematics;
b) to promote teamwork and the development of interpersonal skills in solving mathematical problems, by strengthening the competencies of young researchers in scientific communication and group work;
c) to foster friendly relations between students, academic staff, and the experts evaluating the Competition results, as well as between the institutions participating in the Competition, by creating a space for the integration of the academic community, networking, and the exchange of experiences;
d) to promote science, the University of Silesia in Katowice, and the GZM (Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolia) area as a centre that supports the development of young talent in science and technology, both nationally and internationally.
§3 Jury
1. The Competition is supervised by the Jury, which is the highest authority of the Competition. The Jury, based on site in Katowice – hereafter referred to as the Main Jury –, consists of the Chairman, the Permanent Jury and the Ordinary Jury. The Jury also includes local Representatives of the Jury (see §6.1.).
2. The Chairman is a member of the academic staff of the University of Silesia in Katowice and is elected for each academic year by the dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology.
3. Members of the Permanent Jury are appointed by the dean, referred to in p.2, at the request of the Chairman.
4. Each member of the Permanent Jury may resign from membership at any time.
5. The Ordinary Jury is established at the beginning of a given edition of the Competition and its composition is approved by the Chairman of the Jury during the first meeting.
6. The members of the Ordinary Jury are: Chairman of the Jury, members of the Permanent Jury present at the Competition, as well as the Team Leaders (representatives of the Universities participating in the Competition) and members of the scientific staff of the Organisers nominated by the Chairman of the Jury.
7. Decisions of the Jury are taken by a simple majority of votes.
8. In the case of a tie, the Chairman of the Jury always has the deciding vote.
§4 Competition Partecipants
1. The Competition is addressed to every student at any stage of the studies (undergraduateand graduate), as well as to doctoral school candidates (up to the third year of their studies), interested in mathematics.
2. Student teams may consist of between one and a maximum of five members. Members of the teams, hereafter referred to as Competitors, do not have to be from the same university or country. Each team should nominate one of its members as Captain. It is recommended that the team is accompanied by a Team Leader, who becomes a member of the Ordinary Jury.
3. The team part of the Competition is also open to Competitors who have not participated in the individual part; they must complete a registration form and a RODO declaration; they receive a zero score from the individual part.
4. Each Competitor can only be a member of one team.
5. There are no further restrictions on the number of participants and teams from any university or other higher education institution.
6. During the Competition, Competitors are not allowed to use any electronic devices (e.g. mobile phones, smartwatches, programmable calculators, etc.), books or other support materials, except English dictionaries. Competitors taking part in the remote form of the Competition work in their own Teams and may not contact anyone other than Competitors from their Team or the local Jury Representative.
7. Only the Team Leaders referred to in point 2 are authorised to communicate with the Ordinary Jury on their Team's behalf.
§5 Applications for the Competition
1. Applications for the Competition take place electronically, via the Competition website, at registration webpage.
2. Applications are accepted until the end of October in the year of a given edition of the Competition.
3. In the case of participants online, once the application has been confirmed, all technical details regarding participation in the Competition will be arranged directly with the local Representative of the Jury.
4. The condition for being accepted is consent to the processing of the personal data for the purpose of conducting the Competition and announcing the results of the Competition on the website referred to in p.1.
5. The content of the GDPR Information Clause for the Competitor and the Team Leader with the model declaration of consent constitutes the Appendix to these Rules.
§6 Rules for remote participation in the Competition
1. Remote participation in the Competition is supervised by a local Jury representative (who may also be the Team Leader, i.e. a member of the Ordinary Jury), who is responsible for compliance with the procedures and controlling the independence of the solutions.
2. At any stage of the Competition, both recording and broadcasting of the competition are prohibited.
3. The solutions of the Competitors must be scanned and sent to the e-mail address provided in advance (by the Organisers) immediately after each part of the Competition. Detailed guidelines on file format and upload procedure will be provided to the Competitors prior to the Competition.
4. Solutions are then checked and evaluated by a local Jury Representative according to the scheme sent by the Ordinary Jury of the Competition sitting in Katowice.
5. In all cases of doubt, the local Jury Representative should contact the Ordinary Jury sitting in Katowice.
6. The local Representative of the Jury shall send the final scores as soon as they have been completed for approval by the Ordinary Jury.
7. The provisions of this paragraph, points 1-6, shall apply to both the individual and team parts of the Competition, which are played remotely.
8. The official results of the individual part and the team part for remote participants will be announced together with the results of the stationary participants and as part of the final classification of the Competition..
9. Competitors taking part in the Competition remotely will be awarded a certificate of participation or a laureate's diploma (depending on the result obtained). Medals and other prizes are awarded only to the Competitors and Team Leaders participating in the stationary contest held in Katowice
§7 Problems
1. Problems for the Competition are selected from the following fields of mathematics:
(A) algebra and combinatorics;
(C) calculus and mathematical analysis (including topology);
(E) equations and inequalities (including differential equations and functional equations and inequalities);
(G) geometry and linear algebra;
(P) measure theory and probability theory (including set theory).
2. The Problems are selected before the Competition by the Permanent Jury from among problems proposed by themselves and from those sent by any interested person. Each problem proposed should be original and should be submitted with a correct solution. In special cases, the Jury may also consider problems without a submitted or known solution.
3. The individual part of the Competition consists of solving five problems, one from each field, in four hours.
4. Competitors during the individual part solve the same problems. Solutions are evaluated regardless of the category, while prizes and diplomas are awarded according to category as indicated in p.5.
5. In the individual part, prizes and diplomas are awarded in three categories:
a) first category – undergraduate students (who have not yet received their Bachelor's degree);
b) second category – graduate students (who have not yet obtained their Master's degree);
c) third category – postgraduate students (who have not yet obtained their PhD degree, up to the third year of doctoral studies).
6. The team part of the Competition consists of solving ten problems, two from each field, in four hours.
7. Solutions are evaluated (both in the individual and team part) in the following scale: 0, 3, 8, 10 points, where:
a) 10 points are awarded for a complete solution (even with minor errors);
b) 8 points are awarded for a solution that is basically correct but contains major faults (e.g. a calculation error that simplified the reasoning, lack of substantial justification, etc.);
c) 3 points are awarded for a solution that is incomplete but contains a major step towards a correct solution;
d) 0 points are awarded to every other solution, even partial.
8. Solutions should be formulated in a clear, precise and legible manner that excludes ambiguity; unclear, imprecise or difficult to read solutions may result in a reduction in points, down to 0 points.
9. Solutions that merely cite statements, lemmas or theorems from the scientific literature will not be accepted. The Competition is not a contest of encyclopaedic knowledge, its aim is to test one's own ability to solve mathematical problems and to present a complete reasoning.
10. The results of the Competition and the selection of winners are as follows:
a) in the individual part, each competitor's score is the total sum of points for the solutions to all five problems; in the event of a tie, the winner shall be determined by the higher number of full solutions (awarded 10 points), followed by the higher number of solutions awarded 8 points;
b) in the team part, each team's score is the total sum of points for the solutions to all ten tasks, regardless of which member of the team is the author of the solution; in the event of a tie, the winner is determined by the greater number of complete solutions (scored out of 10 points), followed by the greater number of solutions scored out of 8 points;
c) the Ordinary Jury establishes the point limits for the award of the titles of laureate and honourable mention for each part and each category; the laureates of each part receive medals (subject to §6 point 9) and diplomas;
d) the final result of a Team is the sum of the points it obtained in the team part and the points for the second best score in each of the five problems received by its members in the individual part;
e) the Team with the highest number of points in accordance with the provisions of clause d) is declared the winner; in the event of a tie, the higher place obtained in the team part shall decide the winner;
f) the winning Team receives a prize cup, which is presented at the official results announcement and award ceremony; in the event that the winning Team is found to have infringed the Rules or is found to be in an unexcused absence which prevents it from collecting the cup in person at the award ceremony, the Ordinary Jury reserves the right to withdraw the cup and the title of winner and pass them on to the next team in order; excuses for absence must be notified in advance and accepted by the Organisers;
g) the authors of the best solutions may be asked to present them at the award ceremony;
h) the list of laureates will be made publicly available on the Competition website.
§8 Final Regulations
1. The Organizers do not cover travel and accommodation costs or the cost and use of Internet connections necessary for participation in the Competition.
2. The value of the award for winners will not exceed PLN 2,000. Pursuant to Article 21 par.1(68) of the Act 2021.0.1119 of 26 July 1991, the aforementioned award is free of income tax. In the case of remote participants of the Competition, the Organisers do not provide for any cash or in-kind prizes, with the exception of certificates or diplomas referred to in §6 point 9.
3. The Organisers reserve the right to make changes to these Rules. Any changes will be announced on the official website of the Competition and will come into effect from the date of their publication.
4. The final interpretation of the Rules belongs to the Permanent Jury, and during the Competition - to the Ordinary Jury.
5. Any matters not covered by these Rules or disputes that could not be resolved on the basis of its interpretation by the Permanent or Ordinary Jury shall be decided by the Main Jury. The decisions of the Main Jury are final and not subject to appeal.
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